Hillsdale’s next Center for Constructive Alternatives will survey a history of the world’s great economists, including lectures on Ludwig Von Mises and the public-choice theories of James Buchanan.

“I think it’s a very exciting CCA,” Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram said. “These are very top notch people that have come in.”

The event will run from Nov. 5-8 with speeches from economics professors Mark Skousen,  Bruce Caldwell, Benjamin Powell, Jeffrey A. Tucker, and Randall Holcombe. British journalist Nicholas Wapshott will also present at the conference.

Senior economics major Phoebe Johnston works with student attendance for the CCA office, and said she thinks the CCA will be informative and well-structured, as well as applicable and digestible for all students regardless of their background in economics.

“I think it’s great that the CCA office is bringing attention to such a key area of study within the college,” Johnston said. “I’m particularly excited for the speakers.”

Wolfram said the lectures will not require a comprehensive background in economics to be understood.

“These lectures are geared towards the average person,” Wolfram said, “and you don’t have to be an econ major to grasp the fundamentals of the argument. But you do need to grasp the fundamentals of the argument to figure out where you need to be in the realm of political philosophy.”

Wolfram said all of the speakers are well established in the study of Mises and the free market way of allocating resources.

“If you want to create wealth for the masses there’s only one system to do that and that’s market capitalism, and that requires a political philosophy where you say ‘okay, we’ve got to have limited government, freedom, equality under the law,’ and all the authors are well informed on that and are experts in that field,” Wolfram said.