Loyola Professor Attacks Austrian Economics

Dear Colleague:

I congratulate you for your interest and involvement in the betterment of our university in general and our college in particular.

However, I cannot agree with this statement of yours:

“Austrian Economics is not inline with Ignatian tradition. Fr. Wildes and entire Loyno ministry would attest to this.” Well, let me clarify that. I agree, fully, with the second part of your statement, not with the first, though.

Let me explain.

The School of Salamanca (https://www.google.com/search?q=school+of+salamanca&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab) was established in by Dominicans and Jesuits in the 16th century. It was very free enterprise oriented. For the Salamancans, the just price was the market price, the just rate of interest was the market rate of interest; government intervention into the economy was roundly condemned. The School of Salamanca is a precursor of the Austrian School of economics (https://www.google.com/search?q=School+of+Salamanca+is+a+precursor+of+the+Austrian+School+of+economics&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab). We Austrians write in the grand tradition of the Salamancans.

Thus, it is the Austrian School that is in accord with the Ignatian tradition, not “Fr. Wildes and entire Loyno ministry.” The modern Jesuits, with but a few honorable exceptions, have moved just about 180 degrees away from their historical roots. Thus, it is Fr. Wildes and entire Loyno ministry who are not in accord with the Ignatian tradition.

I therefore find this statement of yours to be problematic:

“Therefore, all of the intellectual contributions in the field of Austrian economics are not inline with Loyno CoB mission. Therefore, we should discourage Drs. Block, Barnett, Levendis and Krasnozhon to have intellectual contributions in the field of Austrian Economics. It is defined by the CoB faculty performance criteria (title 4 of the by-laws) that teaching is prioritized. Thus, we should encourage Drs. Block, Barnett, Levendis and Krasnozhon to publish in practical and pedagogical Economics field instead.”

I would say the very opposite is the case. The contributions of the four members of the economics department are indeed in accord with the Jesuit tradition (of its founding). It is rather Fr. Wildes and entire Loyno ministry, and pretty much the entire modern Jesuit community who take stances on political economy which are incompatible with the founding of the Jesuit tradition, the School of Salamanca.

However, I agree with you about the importance of publishing in education and “pedagogical Economics.” See below for some of my publications in that field.

I’m not sure what you mean by “practical economics,” please explain.

Have you published in pedagogy of your field? In its “practical” aspect? If so, please send me the relevant cites.

Barnett and Block, 2008; Block, 1991A, 1991B, 1991C, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014; Block and Cwik, 2007; Block and Dauterive, 2007; Goolsby and Block. 2003-2004; Horton and Block, 2001-2002; McGee and Block, 1991; North and Block, 2011; Reel and Block, 2012, 2013; Rome and Block. 2006; Whitehead, and Block. 1999, 2000; Young and Block. 1999;

Barnett, William II and Walter E. Block. 2008. “Economic categorization.” Laissez-Faire, Issue 28-29, March-September, pp. 4-12; http://fce.ufm.edu/Publicaciones/LaissezFaire/

Block, Walter E. 1991A. Dollars and Sense: “School Vouchers,” January 18; Nelson Daily News;

Block, Walter E. 1991B. “School Vouchers,” Fraser Forum, February, pp. 30-31.

Block, Walter E. 1991C. “School’s Out for Educational Socialism,” British Columbia Report, v. 2, n. 26, February 25, p. 4.

Block, Walter E. 1991. “Educational Socialism,” Fraser Forum, April, pp. 30-31.

Block, Walter E. 2007. “My Case of and for Coauthoring,” Dialogue, pp. 93-116; http://www.uni-svishtov.bg/dialog/2007/3.07.WB.pdf; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228196683_My_Case_of_and_for_Co-Authoring?ev=prf_pub

Block, Walter E. 2008. “Attention Students: Should You Get Your Ph.D. and Become a Professor?” June 28; http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block104.html (debate with Gary North) http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block104.html

Block, Walter E. 2010. “Is there a Ph.D. glut in economics in academia?” Romanian Economic and Business Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 9-26; http://tinyurl.com/yd6qwsd; reprint in Economics, Management, and Financial Markets , forthcoming, 2010, Vol. 5, No. 1; http://loyno.academia.edu/WalterBlock/Papers/1325023/Is_There_a_Ph.D._Glut_in_Economics_in_Academia; Password: AddletonAP2009.

Block, Walter E. 2014. “Is econ 101 killing America? A critique of Atkinson and Lind, and Boettke.” Management Education Science Technology Journal (MEST); Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 10-22. doi:10.12709/mest.02.02.02.02; http://www.mest.meste.org/MEST_2_2014/4_02.pdf

Block, Walter E. and Paul Cwik. 2007. “Teaching Business Ethics: A Classificationist Approach,” Business Ethics: A European Review. Vol. 16, No. 2 April, pp. 98-107; http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/beer/16/2.

Block, Walter E. and Jerry Dauterive. 2007. “Political Correctness and the Economics of Higher Education.” Humanomics. Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 230-239; http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=A4474341C26657A036E9A278B2379E63?contentType=Article&contentId=1637489

Goolsby, Jerry R. and Walter E. Block. 2003-2004. “Education and Bureaucracy: National Testing and School Privatization,” Texas Education Review; http://www.educationreview.homestead.com/2003GoolsbyBlock.html;
http://141.164.133.3/faculty/Block/Articles%20for%20web/National%20Testing%20and%20School%20Privatization.doc

Horton, Marshall and Walter E. Block. 2001-2002. “Was Marx an Adjunct? An Analysis of the Proposition That Part-time Faculty Are Economically Exploited,” Texas Education Review, Vol. 1, No. IV, Winter, pp. 43-46; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/marx_an_adjunct.pdf

McGee, Robert W. and Walter E. Block. 1991. “Academic Tenure: A Law and Economics Analysis,” Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 14, No. 2, Spring, pp. 545-563; http://141.164.133.3/faculty/Block/Blockarticles/academictenure.htm; reprinted as McGee, Robert W. and Walter E. Block. “Academic Tenure: An Economic Critique,” in DeGeorge, Richard T., ed., 1997. Academic Freedom And Tenure: Ethical Issues, Rowman & Littlefield, 1997
North, Gary and Walter E. Block. July 24-30, 2011 Auburn, AL, Mises University; Debate on higher education; http://mises.org/events/110;
http://media.mises.org/mp3/MU2011/10_MisesU_20110726_Block.mp3;
http://media.mises.org/mp3/MU2011/27_MisesU_20110727_Block.mp3;
http://media.mises.org/mp3/MU2011/16_MisesU_20110726_Block-North_Debate.mp3;
http://archive.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/93031.html; http://www.garynorth.com/public/9121.cfm

Reel, Jordan and Walter E. Block. 2012. “Public Education: Who is it for?” The Scientific Journal of Humanistic Studies; Vol. 7, No. 4, October, pp. 66-72; http://www.revistainternationala.com/index.php?lang=es;
http://paper.researchbib.com/?action=viewPaperSearch

Reel, Jordan and Walter E. Block. 2013. “Educational Vouchers: Freedom to Choose?” Contemporary Economics. pp. 111-122, December, DOI:10.5709/ce.1897-9254.126 http://we.vizja.pl/en/home; http://ce.vizja.pl/en/issues/volume/7/issue/4#art328.

Rome, Gregory and Walter E. Block. 2006. “Schoolhouse Socialism.” Journal of Instructional Psychology, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 83-88; http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCG/is_1_33/ai_n16118909/?tag=content;col1; reprinted as “Voucher Programs Lead to Government Interference in Private Schools,” in Young, Mitchell, ed. 2012. For-Profit Education, Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, pp. 169-176

Whitehead, Roy and Walter E. Block. 1999. “Mandatory Student Fees: Forcing Some to Pay for the Free Speech of Others,” Whittier Law Review, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 759-781; http://141.164.133.3/faculty/Block/Blockarticles/mfearningdifferentials.htm; http://141.164.133.3/faculty/Block/Blockarticles/mandatoryfees.htm
Whitehead, Roy and Walter E. Block. 2000. “Direct Payment of State Scholarship Funds to Church-Related Colleges Offends the Constitution and Title VI,” Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 191-207; http://tinyurl.com/2dwelf; http://141.164.133.3/faculty/Block/Blockarticles/directpymt.htm;
http://www.academia.edu/1466695/Direct_Payment_of_State_Scholarship_Funds_to_Church-Related_Colleges_Offends_the_Constitution_and_Title_VI;

Young, Andrew and Walter E. Block. 1999. “Enterprising Education: Doing Away with the Public School System,” International Journal of Value Based Management, Vol.12, No. 3, pp. 195-207; http://www.mises.org/etexts/enterprisingedu.pdf; http://www.mises.org/story/2216; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/enterprising_education.pdf; http://www.mises.org/story/2216;
Block, Walter E. 1992. “Political Correctness, Free Speech and Economic Liberty,” Fraser Forum, March, p. 38.

Best regards,

Walter

Walter E. Block, Ph.D.
Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics
Loyola University New Orleans
6363 St. Charles Avenue, Box 15, Miller Hall 318
New Orleans, LA 70118
[email protected]
Skype: Walter.Block4
tel: (504) 864-7934

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2:31 pm on April 22, 2018