In Honor of Steven Horwitz
At Freedom Today Network, we want to share our condolences for the passing of the great Steven Horwitz, someone who we had the pleasure to meet, collaborate with, and consider a friend.
On Sunday morning, after a tireless fight against cancer, our friend Steven passed away. When we heard the news, we could not avoid feeling the emptiness and sorrow, feelings that are shared by everyone who met Steven and knew about his innate kindness.
Steven dedicated his life to the ideas we believe in, the ideas of a free society. As a college professor, he was teaching about free enterprise at Ball State University, and he directed the Institute for the Study of Political Economy at the same university.
Professor Horwitz earned his Ph.D. in economics at George Mason University, where he learned from great economists like James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock.
Since then, Steven became one of the most prolific Austrian economists of this generation, making his biggest contributions in the fields of monetary economics – by writing books like Monetary Evolution, Free Banking, and Economic Order, and Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective.
In 2020, Dr. Horwitz published his latest book, “Austrian Economics: An Introduction.” That year, he was also honored by the Competitive Enterprise Institute with the Julian L. Simon Memorial Award, honoring Steven’s life’s work.
Yet, his legacy is much more than awards. To illustrate this, in the last day, I have read numerous Facebook posts about the impact that Steven had in numerous students, colleagues, and the freedom movement overall.
For instance, about his desire and passion to help others, my friend Dr. Peter Jaworski wrote, “Steve was unbelievably generous with his time and advice and friendship. Steve was like this with so very many of us.
Likewise, Wolf von Laer wrote, “It’s a huge loss … he educated millions and I am one of the lucky few. He will be missed.”
Our CEO, Andreas Juergens, similarly wrote: “Steve Horwitz made the world a better place. I will always be grateful to him for that. And I hope that millions of people will read or hear from him in the future.”
Yusuf Ma also said:
“Steve Horwitz died this morning. He was a relentless defender of human liberty. A brilliant intellectual and economist. A deeply compassionate and open-minded man who did his best to make the world a kinder and more tolerant place. I only had the privilege of meeting him a couple of times, but his presence radiated all of these qualities. We should do our best to honor him and continue on his legacy.”
Stephen Davis:
“I can't begin to say how sad I am that Steve Horwitz died this morning. We have all lost an oustanding scholar, and a brilliant teacher. We have also lost someone who was passionately comitted to open discussion and to upholding the principles of liberalism, and the world, not least the part of it that exists online, is seriously the poorer. Most of all though, all of us have lost an oustanding human being, a truly great person. Truly the good die young and are taken from us too soon. My thoughts are with Sarah and his family whose loss is the keenest and deepest.”
Joshua Ammons:
“I am so sorry to hear that Steve Horwitz is gone. As a speaker at my first IHS Summer Seminar, his lectures breathed new life into my pursuit of advanced studies in economics. When I applied for my internship at IHS, Steve was pleased to provide a reference. I wouldn’t be where I am today, a PhD student in economics while working over 7 years at IHS, without this incredible scholar. He’s leaving big shoes for his fellow economists to fill.”
Institute for the Study of Political Economy:
“It is with great sorrow that ISPE announces that our director, Steve Horwitz, died Sunday after a courageous battle with multiple myeloma. Steve inspired us with his positivity about how the work of exploring ideas can bring about prosperity for all. He was particularly interested in seeking how best to empower those who have been historically marginalized. Steve was a passionate scholar, teacher, colleague and friend, and he will be greatly missed. May his memory be a blessing.”
Richard Ebeling:
“I heard just this evening that Steve Horwitz has passed away. Anyone who has known him, knows he had been fighting a roller coaster battle with cancer. Steve was a valued friend, an excellent scholar in the “Austrian” tradition, an articulate classical liberal, and a personal and professional inspiration to many. Especially with the determination and courage with which he fought this terrible illness.”
Cory Massimino:
“Waking up to the news of his death was...devastating. The world lost a giant, both intellectual and spiritual. The economics discipline lost a valiant, thoughtful scholar. The libertarian community lost a principled role model and gifted communicator. His family lost a good and honest man. Countless people lost a friend, professor, and inspiration. His influence, both personal and professional, will outlive him longer than he could've imagined.
As for myself, I lost a beloved mentor (make that two I have to write an obituary for this year). I lost my greatest teacher, without whom I'd have a much poorer grasp of civilization and its many wonders. I lost my favorite VRG leader (we were planning one this summer on Hayek's Modern Family). I lost my favorite social scientist, a true student of society to the very end. I lost the only person I ever Skyped into my failed college student group, who graciously gave his talk "Classical Liberalism's Progressive Heritage" just for me and the ONE other libertarian on campus.”
And the list goes on and on.
On behalf of FTN, I just want to finish this article by expressing our condolences to Steven’s family. We also want to share our admiration and love for Steven. For this reason, we will do our best to continue his legacy. By advancing the ideas he believed in and by following his example.
Jorge Jraissati
Jorge Jraissati is the president of the Venezuelan Alliance. Graduated at the Wilkes Honors College, Jorge is an economist, political leader, and a fellow at the Abigail Adams Institute. Jorge has been invited as a guest lecturer to over 20 universities, such as Harvard, NYU, and Cambridge.
