On this episode, Chris Coyne and Peter Boettke explore the life and legacy of economist Kenneth E. Boulding, Boettke's former professor and mentor. Boettke recalls his experiences in Boulding's Great Books in Economics course and their conversations outside of class about peace, economics, and poetry. The conversation outlines Boulding’s path from studying chemistry at Oxford and an unusually early publication in the Economic Journal to his formative time in Chicago with Frank Knight and his later academic years. Coyne and Boettke discuss why no “Boulding school” emerged, how Boulding's ideas can and are still inspiring new research on institutions, civil society, and peace, and more.

This is the first episode in a short series of episodes that will feature a collection of authors who contributed to the volume 1, issue 2 of the Markets & Society Journal or to a forthcoming special issue from The Review of Austrian Economics.

Dr. Peter J. Boettke is Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University. He has published numerous books, including The Historical Path to Liberty and Human Progress (Universidad Francisco Marroquín Press, 2025) coauthored with Rosolino Candela, The Socialist Calculation Debate: Theory, History, and Contemporary Relevance (Cambridge University Press, 2024) coauthored with Rosolino Candela and Tegan Truitt, and The Struggle for a Better World (Mercatus Center, 2021).

Show Notes:

• Kenneth Boulding’s article, “After Samuelson, Who needs Smith?” (History of Political Economy, 1971)
• James Buchanan’s article, “What Should Economists Do?” (SEJ, 1964)
• Frank Knight’s article, “The Theory of Investment Once More: Mr. Boulding and the Austrians” (QJE, 1935)
• Kenneth Boulding’s book, The Image (University of Michigan Press, 1969)
• Kenneth Boulding's AEA address, "Economics as a Moral Science" (The American Economic Review, 1969)
• Kenneth Boulding’s book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)
• Kenneth Boulding’s book, Three Faces of Power (SAGE Publications, 1990)
• Albert Hirschman’s book, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States (Harvard University Press, 1972)
• Raghuram Rajan’s book, The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind (Penguin Press, 2020)
• Center for Research on Conflict Resolution
• Journal of Conflict Resolution

**This episode was recorded September 10, 2025.

If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!

Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram

Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus

CC Music: Twisterium