LvMI Supporters Summit 2009 and Awarding of Schlarbaum Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Liberty
October 21-24, 2009
Salamanca, Spain
One of the great discoveries of the 20th century concerns the origins of economic science in the late middle ages in Spain and Italy. Long before Adam Smith wrote, many scholastics from the 14th through the 17th centuries were writing systematic economic theory.
No spot on the planet was as fruitful as the School of Salamanca in Spain. Here was the world center of economic research. The writings by the intellectuals gathered here explained price, value, money and its function, saving, entrepreneurship, inflation, contract and exchange, and so much more - and they closely engaged the modern world that was being born at that time, providing at theory and a rationale for the rise of prosperity.
As Murray Rothbard demonstrated in his tremendous treatise on the history of thought, these thinkers were the predecessors to modern Austrian School theory.
What's more, the late scholastics of the School of Salamanca agreed on the damage that government intervention did in the course of economic affairs. They saw the blessings of liberty as an extension of the blessings of God. Therefore, there is a sense in which Salamanca is also the origin of modern libertarian theory.
For the first time, the Mises Institute will return to the origins of our intellectual project, with a conference co-sponsored by the Juan de Mariana Institute in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of one of the great books of the period, Juan de Mariana's treatise on The Alteration of Money. The Mariana Institute was founded by former Mises Fellow, Gabriel Calzada.
Mariana was Murray Rothbard's favorite scholastic author and the conference will look at the history of money and the current economic crisis. In addition to being the Birthplace of Economics, Salamanca is also a World Heritage Site and a European Capital of Culture.
Speakers includ Ron Paul, Lew Rockwell, Doug French, Jesus Huerta de Soto, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Gabriel Calzada, Jeffrey Tucker, Thomas DiLorenzo, Joseph Salerno, Guido Hulsmann, Walter Block, and Peter Klein.
Attendance is limited, so register early.
We depart Madrid airport late morning or early afternoon on Wednesday, October 21 by coach with refreshments and guided tour of the beautiful countryside enroute to historic Salamanca. Wednesday evening you will be welcomed at a gala reception at the luxurious Palacio de San Esteban, which is located within the walls of the cloister where the School of Salamanca began.
We will have sessions the mornings of Thursday and Friday in the exquisite chapel where the Scholastics met, with walking tours of Salamanca and surrounding area in the afternoons, visiting historic cathedrals, universities, museums, and marketplaces (examples).
On Saturday, we travel to nearby El Castillo del Buen Amor for a guided tour and closing dinner and reception where the Schlarbaum Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Liberty will be awarded to Professor Jesus Huerta de Soto.
You may depart Salamanca on Sunday, October 25 to return to Madrid airport, or you may participate in optional tours during the day on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and fly out of Madrid on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
Our experienced travel coordinator, Tami Holland can assist with extended European tours as well.
For more information, go to the Events pages of mises.org.
http://mises.org/eve
nts/118