David Howden has written an excellent review of Property, Freedom, and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe (New Perspectives on Political Economy, Volume 5, Number 1, 2009, pp. 73–80). Howden writes:
Many academics toil a thankless life, striving for truth amid a sea of fallacies and inaccuracies. Some who do this with mediocrity are ignored. Those who do it well are often subject to intense criticism and ridicule. A select few rise to the challenge, and with conviction, carry forward – ever aiming to convince the masses that their truthful pursuit is right. Of this miniscule number of individuals, only a handful may ever reach the point where their peers recognize them for their insights, and reward their toils accordingly. Hans-Hermann Hoppe is one such individual.
… The collection of scholars who have come together to pay their respects reads like a veritable “who’s who” list of the world’s leading political philosophers. Hülsmann and Kinsella note in their brief introduction that after Murray Rothbard’s untimely death in 1995, Hoppe assumed a role of “uncontested leadership” among the Austro-libertarian scholars. The scope of this leadership is evident as one reads the contributions offered by his admirers in the following pages.
… The thirty-five contributions to his Festschrift … show the far-reaching effects that his writ- ings have had. In many diverse fields we can see the torch of Hoppean economics and political philosophy carried on. The quality of the contributions is outstanding and should result in this work being highly read and influential in furthering the Austro-libertarian research paradigm.
In many ways, it is unfortunate that honors such as a Festschrift come along only once a lifetime for an individual. With so many contributions currently progressing and many significant works yet to come, it will be interesting to see our Herr Professor Doktor’s sphere of influence grow as the years continue. Until such a time, the present work is a succinct place to read the scope and influence of Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s works over his lifetime; let’s hope that more is to follow in the future.
Property, Freedom, and Society: Marzipan in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe
As a piece of Festschrift trivia, as I noted in Bodrum Days and Nights: The Fifth Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: A Partial Report, at the recent Property and Freedom Society conference in Bodrum, Turkey, a guest presented a festschrift-cake he had had made in Estonia, entitled “Property, Freedom, and Society: Marzipan in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe,” which was served as part of the dessert at the closing banquet.
