11. The Vegas Circle

Lee I. Iglody

I was introduced to Professor Dr. Hans-Hermann Hoppe through Murray N. Rothbard, whom I had followed from New York’s Brooklyn Polytech to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in order to study Austrian Economics. Having recently finished his Mises Institute booklet on the Austrian Method, I almost trembled when reaching out to shake his hand. Almost twenty years later, I still remember fondly that brief moment in the hallway. It was, to exaggerate only slightly, more exciting than meeting Mick Jagger and David Bowie. Right off the bat, anyone who knew Professors Rothbard and Hoppe back in the late 80s and early 90s will confirm that this dynamic duo had a chemistry that at once made them very accessible and yet strangely distant. Accessibility came from the fact that Rothbard was always willing to entertain even the most foolish questions with his characteristic cackle and an explanation of the way things are. Professor Hoppe, on the other hand, had a much more methodological, Teutonic way of dealing with stupid inquiries, a form of Socratic dialogue with a lot of “ja, so” thrown in to punctuate the conversation. (“Government provides goods that the market cannot produce? Ja, so what do you mean by ‘goods’?”)

At the time, I traveled the “libertarian” seminar circuit quite a bit. At each of these programs, I always found individuals who were amazed by the depth and breadth of the works of Rothbard and Hoppe, and could not stop asking questions about them and their work. And each time this happened, I took a moment to thank God again for the chance I had to learn at the feet of the actual masters, Rothbard and Hoppe. And this is where part of the distance came in. Rothbard and Hoppe were operating on a different level altogether. There are those of us who are lucky enough to go through life with some vague understanding of what things are and how they became so. A few, select, blessed individuals transcend everything, see almost everything and are adept at imparting the gift to see to others. In this regard, Hoppe simply soared.

In the classroom, Professor Hoppe was not some lecturer regurgitating the sanitized and sterile “knowledge” of textbooks (he didn’t use them), but a great “professor” of truth, with a clear, concise style of delivery punctuated by his wonderful dry wit, and a reading list that included books such as Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson and Rothbard’s Man, Economy, and State. I personally witnessed him convert many students to libertarianism. “You know, he really makes sense,” was uttered by countless students after class. He made even generally disinterested students think about and grapple with fundamental questions of economics and, thus, civilization.

Predictably, although Professor Hoppe regularly received outstanding student reviews, and his publication list put to shame most of the economics department, there came a time when the University attempted to deny him tenure. With perseverance and dignity, Professor Hoppe overcame his opponents and achieved tenure. Thereafter, twice more his enemies came after him, and twice more he repulsed them, at great personal cost. I personally witnessed the immense time and effort Professor Hoppe had to expend defending against these onslaughts, and it saddens me to think how many new ideas humanity has been deprived of because of this diversion of his time and thoughts.

One of our regular activities outside the classroom was the weekly Political Economy Club meeting that took place at a local tavern, with cheap beer and a suitably quiet corner for us to gather around Professor Hoppe. Usually, by the third or fourth round, Professor Hoppe became “Hans” and the discussions became animated. Various visiting students, and the occasional dignitary, would often stop by to inject new energy into the discussion of diverse topics. Aside from the educational and social benefits of talks that went into the wee hours, I was privileged to observe the evolution of Hoppe’s thoughts on many issues.

True, Hans is genuinely Teutonic in his reserve and detachment, but like so many great Germanic Thinkers, beneath this Teutonic exterior is a passion for freedom and knowledge that propels him to seek answers and solutions precisely because the consequences for humanity are so great. Anyone who has read his theoretical or practical works can imagine him a sincere defender of Western Civilization, with all that implies; but to have sat across from him when he is “Hans” explaining why, for example, methodological individualism is indispensible to real knowledge or democracy is a false god, is to see and feel that here sits another brave soul who has taken “Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito” to heart. Ludwig von Mises is said to have regretted, not the times he stood fast, but the times he compromised. By this standard, Professor Hoppe will have but few regrets.

I salute you, Hans.

Lee Iglody (leeiglody@yahoo.com), an attorney in Las Vegas, completed his Bachelor of Arts in Economics with honors under the guidance of Professors Murray N. Rothbard and Hans-Hermann Hoppe at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.