Michael Leube: A Freeway to Serfdom

On May 20, 2022, the 16th Gottfried von Haberler Conference was held at the University of Liechtenstein – “On the Morality of the State and the State of Political Morals”.

Leading international scientists and recognized experts discussed the highly relevant, and explosive topic. The event was organized by ECAEF – European Center of Austrian Economics Foundation – and supported by the University of Liechtenstein and multiple local and international sponsors.

In today’s article, we publish the recordings of a talk and an interview given by Michael Leube at the Haberler Conference. Leube’s talk was titled “A Freeway to Serfdom: On Social Media, Polarization and the Contempt of Civic Institutions”.

Michael Leube was born in Innsbruck, Austria. But he grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley (Anthropology and Comparative Religion) in 1994. After returning to Europe, he received his M.A. from the University of Vienna (Anthropology and Human Biology) in 1999 and his Ph.D. from the University of Zagreb (Anthropology) in 2003.

For the Wiener Zeitung, Leube worked as a journalist responsible for all topics concerning sustainability. He worked on scientific assessments for development work in Guatemala, India, Nepal and Kenya. From 2000 to 2013 he lived and worked as an anthropologist in Madrid and taught at various universities such as Universidad Nebrija, Syracuse University, University of California and Saint Louis University.

Between 2013 and 2018, Leube became fascinated with the interface between Anthropology and Design as a senior lecturer and researcher at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. He is convinced that only design well adapted to the needs of Homo sapiens is good design and sees it as a link between the theory of the social sciences and developmental work. At IE, his research focuses on the Circular Economy and Design for Social Innovation.