Renowned economist speaks on campus

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Renowned economist speaks on campus

Deirdre

Economist Deirdre McCloskey lectures on classical liberalism Tuesday, March 8 in Dow A & B.

Eric Ragan | Courtesy

More than 140 students and faculty crowded Dow A & B Tuesday to hear from world-famous economist Deirdre McCloskey speak on “How True Liberalism Enriched the World.”

Free-market student organization Praxis invited McCloskey to spend all of Tuesday eating meals with students and faculty, teaching economics classes, and giving a main lecture open to the entire student body. McCloskey — an open socialist and Keynesian during her time as a Harvard student in the 1960s — is one of today’s premier free-market economists and personally studied under free-market economist Milton Friedman.

“The mechanical parts of economics don’t explain how we got so rich,” McCloskey said. “The biggest idea that made us rich was liberalism. Advanced thinking was developing liberalism until 1848…They’re giving up the word ‘liberal’; I urge us to seize it back. Now I don’t think students at Hillsdale struggle to understand this but to be clear: If you’re going to be a good economist, you have to think seriously about ethics.”

The child of a Harvard professor and opera singer, McCloskey is finishing the third book in an economic history trilogy concerned with the bourgeois virtues, like dignity and liberty, and how they explain why the West became wealthy.

“She’s a highly renowned and influential scholar that I’ve been aware of since I was a graduate student. Her articles were required reading for many of the classes I took,” Professor of Economics and Praxis adviser Ivan Pongracic said. “Probably the most important work she’s done is the trilogy she just finished and the third book that’s about to come out. I think this is recognized among many people as being a very significant new contribution to economic history literature. She has a lot of innovative ideas and approaches.”

McCloskey taught communication, economics, English, and history at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 2000 to 2015 and has written 17 books and about 400 scholarly articles.

“She’s not somebody who will go just anywhere. It’s a real privilege to actually be able to get her here,” Pongracic said. “We owe it to the instigation of our president, Eric Ragan, that this whole thing happened at all. Praxis tried unsuccessfully to get her to come a couple years ago so initially when Eric approached me, I said it was a long shot to even invite her.”

On Tuesday, Ragan attended two economic classes for which McCloskey spoke as well as the evening lecture.

“Dr. McCloskey is one of the most notable economists Praxis has ever had the privilege of welcoming to Hillsdale,” Ragan said. “She is without a doubt one of the most fascinating people with whom I have ever spoken.”

Although McCloskey specializes in economic history, the Boston native boasts six honorary doctorate degrees and writes on a range of topics from statistical theory to Jane Austen to Aristotle to transgender advocacy.

“Deirdre McCloskey is simply a joy to meet and speak with,” Professor of Economics Christopher Martin said. “Her knowledge ranges from medieval agriculture to the evolution of the economics profession. In addition, her humane and generous spirit shines through and we were very fortunate to have her visit the college.”

Before leaving campus, the 73-year-old economist — who recently decided to learn to play an accordion specially imported from Czechoslovakia — told students never to stop learning, ask questions constantly, and observe the world around them. She recommended finding one subject area to study deeply.

“I try to imagine myself if I had done only economics. That wouldn’t have been good for me,” McCloskey said. “It’s very important to specialize once, to make a deep drilling down in one subject and I don’t care what it is. Drill deep, then you know what depth means. And then read widely. That’s the correct combination.”