Congratulations to RALPH RAICO, the winner of the Gary G. Schlarbaum Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Cause of Liberty. The Schlarbaum Prize, given annually by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, carries with it an award of an inscribed gold medal and a $10,000 grant.
Raico is professor of European history at Buffalo State College and the author of two books and many important articles on the history of liberty, the liberal tradition in Europe, and the relationship between war and the rise of the state, including "World War I: The Turning Point" and "Rethinking Churchill" in the 2nd edition of The Costs of War (edited by John V. Denson).
Professor Raico was a 17-year-old high school student when he first knocked on Ludwig von Mises's door. He studied economics at Mises's famed New York seminar, learned German upon his advice, and translated Mises's Liberalism into English. Raico became a close friend and colleague of Murray Rothbard, and took his PhD at the University of Chicago under the tutelage of F.A. Hayek.
He is the author of a new book in German on the history of German Liberalism: Die Partei der Freiheit: Studien zur Geschichte des deutschen Liberalismus (Stuttgart: Lucus & Lucius, 1999) and of Classical Liberalism: Historical Essays in Political Economy (forthcoming from Routledge).
Raico thinks and writes within the historical tradition of the French classical liberals, Acton, Mises, and Rothbard. His work exhibits not only a mastery of historical fact and the existing literature on whatever subject with which he concerns himself. He is also passionately attached to the liberal ideal and has demonstrated the courage to advance that ideal despite the biases of his profession.
In this, he goes even further than his predecessors by integrating a profound economic understanding into his analysis, viewing the state as the enemy of freedom and morality, as well as prosperity.
For several years, he has taught at the Mises University, a program that focuses on economic theory. Raico's invaluable contribution to this conference and many others has been to add a broader perspective on the history of liberty, tracing the advent of liberal theory from the Middle Ages and the decline of freedom in our own time.
As a lecturer, he displays impressive skill. Students sit with rapt attention as Raico weaves together intellectual and political history, explaining the real causes and consequences of wars, depressions, and revolutions. In his scholarship and personal example, he has inspired a younger generation of historians, and kindled hope in a future of honesty in historical scholarship and the future of liberty itself.
Professor Raico will be awarded the Schlarbaum Prize at a gala black-tie dinner at the conclusion of the Mises Institute 2000 Supporters Summit on The History of Liberty, Auburn, Alabama, January 28-29, 2000.
