From Rothbard’s biography of Ludwig von Mises, a passage worth remembering:
On the publication of his two books in economic history and on the
receipt of his doctorate in 1906, Mises ran into a problem that would
plague him the rest of his life: the refusal of academia to grant him a
full-time, paid position. It boggles the mind what this extraordinarily
productive and creative man was able to accomplish in economic theory
and philosophy when down to his mid-50s, his full-time energies were
devoted to applied political-economic work. Until middle-age, in short,
he could only pursue economic theory and write his extraordinary and
influential books and articles, as an overtime leisure activity. What
could he have done, and what would the world have gained, if he had
enjoyed the leisure that most academics fritter away?
I vividly remember reading this passage during my first year at GMU. I’ve never been inclined to fritter, but it’s still been an inspiration. Academics inclined to lament their lot in life really should ask themselves, “WWMD?”
READER COMMENTS
hacs
Aug 11 2011 at 12:35am
Off topic
http://www.nature.com/mp/press_releases/aug_11.pdf
ron
Aug 11 2011 at 1:20am
I do my best work when I am angry. Not a stellar character trait I know. It seems dumping on me works best, although you put yourself at risk of looking stupid when I work like a madman to prove you wrong. I would be the wrong person to give tenure to.
Jim Rose
Aug 11 2011 at 3:34am
were there that many paid university positions for economists at that time?
Tracy W
Aug 11 2011 at 3:42am
Would his work have been as good though, if he was a full-time academic? Or did his day job inform his theory?
DougT
Aug 12 2011 at 10:18am
I agree with Tracy. When I was considering a Ph.D. in Biology my mentor exhorted me to “always wash your own glassware.” His lesson was that insights often come to us in the mundane moments. What is an economist’s glassware?
As an aside, Einstein published his paper on special relativity while working at the Swiss Patent Office.
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