As I mention in today’s Daily, one of the really exciting developments in the continued growth of the Austrian school is what is going on in Brazil.
In one his last works, Theory and History, Mises wrote:
Thoughts and ideas are not phantoms. They are real things. Although intangible and immaterial, they are factors in bringing about changes in the realm of tangible and material things.
We are seeing in Brazil today the real impact ideas can have on a nation.
While their appearance this week in the Wall Street Journal is a testament to the respect Mises Brasil is earning across the world, I think the best testament to the work of Helio Beltrão and the incredible organization of Austro-libertarians is the fact that Ludwig von Mises is now searched more in their country than either John Maynard Keynes or Milton Friedman.
Given the current climate of political unrest and economic uncertainty facing their country, Brazil needs the ideas of Mises now more than ever. Thanks to the passion and ability of young Brazilian scholars, like 2015 Summer Fellow Mariana Piaia Abreu or the number of Brazilian students who have attended Mises University over the years, this is a battle we are winning.
