Donald Charles Lavoie (April 4, 1951 – November 6, 2001) was an American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

of the

Austrian School The Austrian School is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result exclusively from the motivations and actions of individuals. Austrian schoo ...

. He was influenced by

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Haye ...

Hans-Georg Gadamer Hans-Georg Gadamer (; ; February 11, 1900 – March 13, 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, best known for his 1960 ''magnum opus'', '' Truth and Method'' (''Wahrheit und Methode''), on hermeneutics. Life Family ...

Michael Polanyi Michael Polanyi (; hu, Polányi Mihály; 11 March 1891 – 22 February 1976) was a Hungarian-British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and philosophy. He argued that positivism supplies ...

and

Ludwig Lachmann Ludwig Maurits Lachmann (; ; 1 February 1906 – 17 December 1990) was a German economist who was a theorist and important contributor to the Austrian School of Economics. Lachmann himself, Israel Kirzner, and Murray Rothbard were the three primar ...

. He wrote two books on the problem of economic calculation. His first book on this subject was ''Rivalry and Central Planning'' (Cambridge University Press 1985). This book stressed the importance of the process of competitive rivalry in markets. His second book was ''National Economic Planning: What Is Left?'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1985). This book dealt with the problem of non-comprehensive planning.

Early life and education

Lavoie earned a BS in computer science in 1973 from

Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now has 14 ac ...

. He then earned a PhD in economics in 1981 from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

under

Israel Kirzner Israel Meir Kirzner (also Yisroel Mayer Kirzner ; born February 13, 1930) is a British-born American economist closely identified with the Austrian School. Early life and education The son of a well-known rabbi and Talmudist, Kirzner was born i ...

. His thesis was entitled ''Rivalry and central planning: a re-examination of the debate over economic calculation under socialism''.

Career

Don Lavoie joined the faculty of the economics department of George Mason University as an assistant professor in 1981. He was co-founder of the interdisciplinary unit known as the ''Program on Social & Organizational Learning'' at George Mason University. As a young professor, he worked on the philosophy and practice of electronically mediated discourse. He knew the importance for organizations of new ways of cultivating interactive learning environments ( groupware and hypertext software environments) in order to enhance communicative processes. He showed the fundamental nature of social learning processes, whether in market exchanges, in verbal conversations, or in hypertext-based dialogue. As a scholar, he studied the philosophy of the

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

(especially the application of

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...

to economics) and

Comparative economic systems Comparative Economic Systems is the sub-classification of economics dealing with the comparative study of different systems of economic organization, such as capitalism, socialism, feudalism and the mixed economy. It is widely held to have been f ...

(especially Marxian theories of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

). Along with

Richard Ebeling __NOTOC__ Richard M. Ebeling (; born January 30, 1950) is an American libertarian author who was the president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) from 2003 to 2008. Ebeling is currently the BB&T Distinguished Professor of Ethics and F ...

and others, Lavoie pioneered the attempt to merge Austrian Economics with philosophical hermeneutics in the late 1980s, and in particular with the hermeneutics of

. His effort drew criticism from several members of the Austrian School associated with the

Mises Institute Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973). It ...

, especially

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian ...

and

Hans-Hermann Hoppe Hans-Hermann Hoppe (; ; born 2 September 1949) is a German-American economist of the Austrian School, philosopher and political theorist. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Senior Fellow of ...

. In the book ''Culture and Enterprise: The Development, Representation and Morality of Business'' (New York: Routledge, 2000) written with Emily Chamlee-Wright, they take into account the important role of

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

in a nation's economic development. He also worked at the

Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Ind ...

Books

* *

Students

Among his students, there are a number of "contemporary Austrian" economists:

Peter Boettke Peter Joseph Boettke (; born January 3, 1960) is an American economist of the Austrian School. He is currently a professor of economics and philosophy at George Mason University; the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism, vice president for ...

David Prychitko David L. Prychitko (born June 22, 1962) is an American economist of the Austrian School. Prychitko is a critic of Marxism, but defends the idea of workers' self-managed firms in a freed market system. Prychitko is a tenured professor at Northe ...

, Steven Horwitz, Thomas Rustici, Mark Gilbert, Ralph Rector, Emily Chamlee-Wright, Howie Baetjer and Virgil Storr.

Death and legacy

Lavoie was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the spring of 2001. He died of a stroke later that year. A conference was held in his honor after his death as well as a book of essays.

References

External links

'Don Lavoie: A truth-teller now silent' By Ronald N. Neff

Don Lavoie's Lectures on Comparative Economic Systems: George Mason University, Fall 1985: Notes taken and edited by David L. Prychitko
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavoie, Don 1951 births 2001 deaths Austrian School economists 20th-century American economists Cato Institute people George Mason University faculty Public choice theory