The Rise of the Mises Institute and Austrian Economics

After Ludwig von Mises's death in 1973, the Austrian School—and therefore the undiluted cause of liberty and prosperity—was in the doldrums. There were great Austrian economists teaching—preeminently Murray N. Rothbard—but they were isolated, and the pro-Fed Chicago School was in the ascendant. The great books were difficult to come by, and young people had almost no place to go, to learn about real free market and sound money, and their intellectual foundations.

You can understand why Margit von Mises, his widow, was so thrilled to learn of plans for a Mises Institute a few years after her husband's death, and gave it her blessing. Murray literally clapped his hands in glee when he heard. Since then, the Austrian School has blossomed, and not only in the US, but around the world. We have masses of brilliant students, and of faculty, too. Top journalists and businessmen, financiers and professionals, swell our ranks. We hope you will join us as well.

Our programs for students and scholars, and everyone else, are booming. All the great books are available for free online, and cheaply in physical form. Videos, audios, and thousands of articles, too, Our journal and other scholarly publications are in demand. Our website is massive and growing. Grad students and undergraduates compete to be our summer fellows. Of course, we want to work with every student, every economist, every professor, every person interested in the Austrian School and the related libertarian ideas, wherever they are. Meanwhile, our Distinguished Counsellor, Dr. Ron Paul, has introduced millions more to our ideas.

There is so much important work to do. We face a menacing State, a crazed Fed, and all its assembled liars on campus and off. But we also have the one weapon such people fear: the truth. And our ideas are on the march. Please help us move forward in 2012 to wipe the floor—intellectually speaking!—with the Keynesians, the socialists, the fascists.

http://mises.org/WorkInProgress/MisesCirclePostcards/Lewletter2011.html