Ralph Raico (; October 23, 1936 – December 13, 2016) was an American
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
historian of European
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
and a professor of history at
Buffalo State College
The State University of New York College at Buffalo (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State College, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State) is a public college in Buffalo, New York. It is part of the State University of Ne ...
.
["Ralph Raico"]
The Independent Institute
The Independent Institute is an American libertarian think tank based in Oakland, California. Founded in 1986 by David J. Theroux, the institute focuses on political, social, economic, legal, environmental, and foreign policy issues. It has more ...
. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
Early life and education
Raico was from New York City,
["Ralph Raico"]
Future of Freedom Foundation. Retrieved November 15, 2013. where he attended
The Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Spec ...
. Through the
Foundation for Economic Education
The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1948 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network.
FEE offers pub ...
, Raico and his classmate
George Reisman
George Gerald Reisman (; born January 13, 1937)"George Gerald Reisman" (2002), ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, Retrieved on January 18, 2007. is an American economist. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Pepperdine University and the ...
arranged to meet with economist
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and Sociology, sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberali ...
, who subsequently invited them to attend his graduate seminar on
Austrian economics
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 school ...
at the
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, the ...
. There, he met fellow seminar attendee
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 m ...
, who befriended him. Rothbard and his friends Raico, Reisman,
Ronald Hamowy
Ronald Hamowy (; April 17, 1937 – September 8, 2012) was a Canadian academic, known primarily for his contributions to political and social academic fields. At the time of his death, he was professor emeritus of Intellectual History at the Univ ...
and
Robert Hessen
Robert Hessen (born 1936) is an American economic and business historian. He is a professor at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and a senior research fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution. He is an Objectivist and has ...
formed a "self-conscious intellectual and activist salon" they named the Circle
Bastiat.
[.]
In the mid-1950s, the Circle Bastiat also brought Raico into contact with novelist
Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
and her followers, informally known at the time as
The Collective.
Raico attended the first lectures about Rand's philosophy of
Objectivism
Objectivism is a philosophical system developed by Russian Americans, Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with prod ...
.
[.] Eventually, relations between the two groups soured, leading to an incident in which the Circle parodied the Collective, performing a skit in which Raico played the part of Rand's protege
Nathaniel Branden
Nathaniel Branden (born Nathan Blumenthal; April 9, 1930 – December 3, 2014) was a Canadian–American psychotherapist and writer known for his work in the psychology of self-esteem. A former associate and romantic partner of Ayn Rand, B ...
.
[.] By the summer of 1958, Rand and Rothbard had broken off all ties, and the groups stopped associating.
Raico received his B.A. from the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
[ and his Ph.D. from the ]University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, where his adviser was 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 ...
.
Career
While at the University of Chicago, Raico founded ''The New Individualist Review'', a libertarian publication which first published in April 1961 and produced 17 issues until it ceased publication in 1968.[.] Raico and other graduate students comprised the editorial board. Hayek and Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...
and later economist George Stigler
George Joseph Stigler (; January 17, 1911 – December 1, 1991) was an American economist. He was the 1982 laureate in Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and is considered a key leader of the Chicago school of economics.
Early life and ...
were on the advisory board. In 1981, Friedman wrote that he believed the publication had "set an intellectual standard which has not yet, I believe, been matched by any of the more recent publications in the same philosophical tradition".[Riggenbach, Jeff (July 18, 2011)]
"The Journalism of Hamowy and Raico"
''Mises Daily'' 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 wa ...
. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
Raico later became senior editor of ''Inquiry
An inquiry (also spelled as enquiry in British English) is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the ...
'' magazine. He was an associate editor of ''The Independent Review
''The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering political economy and the critical analysis of government policy. It is published by the Independent Institute, a conservative li ...
'' (a journal published by The Independent Institute
The Independent Institute is an American libertarian think tank based in Oakland, California. Founded in 1986 by David J. Theroux, the institute focuses on political, social, economic, legal, environmental, and foreign policy issues. It has more ...
) and a senior fellow of 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 wa ...
which published his work on the history of liberty and the connection between war and the state.["Ralph Raico biography"]
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 wa ...
. Retrieved November 15, 2013. Raico translated Mises' book ''Liberalismus
''Liberalism'' (original German title: ''Liberalismus'') is a book by Austrian School economist and libertarian thinker Ludwig von Mises, containing economic analysis and indicting critique of socialism. It was first published in 1927 by Gustav ...
'' and various essays 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 ...
into English.[
]
Death
Raico died on December 13, 2016 at the age of 80.
Publications
Books
* ''Gay Rights: A Libertarian Approach''. Libertarian Party
Active parties by country
Defunct parties by country
Organizations associated with Libertarian parties
See also
* Liberal parties by country
* List of libertarian organizations
* Lists of political parties
Lists of political part ...
(1975). .
* ''Classical Liberalism in the Twentieth Century''. Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University (1990). .
* ''Die Partei der Freiheit: Studien zur Geschichte des deutschen Liberalismus''. Introduction by Christian Watrin. Translated by Gabriele Bartel, Pia Weiss, and Jörg Guido Hülsmann
Jörg Guido Hülsmann (born 18 May 1966) is a German-born economist of the Austrian School of economics who studies issues related to money, banking, monetary policy, macroeconomics, and financial markets. Hülsmann is professor of economics at t ...
. Lucius & Lucius (1999). . .
''Great Wars and Great Leaders: A Libertarian Rebuttal''.
Introduction by Robert Higgs
Robert Higgs (born 1 February 1944) is an American economic historian and economist combining material from Public Choice, the New institutional economics, and the Austrian school of economics; and describes himself as a " libertarian anarchis ...
. Auburn, Alabama: 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 wa ...
(2010) . .
* ''The Place of Religion in the Liberal Philosophy of Constant, Tocqueville, and Lord Acton''. (2010). . .
:: Book version of Raico's University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
dissertation.
* ''Classical Liberalism and the Austrian School''. Auburn, Alabama: 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 wa ...
(2012). . .
Book contributions
* "Classical Liberalism and the Austrian School." in ''The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics'', edited by Peter J. Boettke. Edward Elgar Publishing (1988). . .
* Introduction to the 50th-anniversary edition of John T. Flynn
John Thomas Flynn (October 25, 1882 – April 13, 1964) was an American journalist best known for his opposition to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and to American entry into World War II. In September 1940, Flynn helped establish the America Fi ...
's ''The Roosevelt Myth''. Fox & Wilkes (1998).. .
* "World War I: The Turning Point" and "Rethinking Churchill." in ''The Costs of War: America's Pyrrhic Victories'', edited by John V. Denson. Transaction Publishers (1999). .
See also
* List of Austrian School economists
This is a list of notable economists aligned with the Austrian School who are sometimes colloquially called "the Austrians". This designation applies even though few hold Austrian citizenship; moreover, not all economists from Austria subscribe to ...
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Raico's article archives at Mises.org
Raico book and paper archives at Mises.org
Bio
at Future of Freedom Foundation
Ralph Raico: Champion of Authentic Liberalism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raico, Ralph
1936 births
2016 deaths
20th-century American historians
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American libertarians
American male non-fiction writers
American political writers
Buffalo State College faculty
City College of New York alumni
Historians from New York (state)
Libertarian historians
Libertarian theorists
Mises Institute people
Non-interventionism
People from New York City
University of Chicago alumni
Writers from New York City