5th International Vernon Smith Prize

5th International Vernon Smith Prize Collage based on Quentin Massys (1465-1530) The Tax Collectors; Collection of Prince of Liechtenstein, Vaduz-Wien

The Winners of the 5th International Vernon Smith Prize 2012 for the advancement of Austrian Economics are:

First Prize EUR 4,000: Cameron Harwick (USA) for his essay “”.

Second Prize EUR 3,000: Benjamin Buchthal (Germany). Download his essay here -> PDF (233kb).

Third Prize EUR 2,000: Lode Cossaer (Belgium) for his essay “”.

“A Government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” Why should a democratic majority, only because it is the majority be entitled to apply to a minority a rule which does not apply to itself? Although, income redistribution occurs in some form in most of today’s democratic countries, it seems that this practice is an infringement on the fundamental principle on which the justification of democracy rests. The topic is critically important and requires sound thinking.

Inspired by George Bernard Shaws famous quote ECAEF invited papers on this topic – in English language and from individuals of up to 30 years of age. The deadline for all entries for the 5th International Vernon Smith Prize was November 30, 2012. Prizes were not transferable and have been awarded on the basis of originality, grasp of subject, and the logical consistence of the argument. Essays were judged by an international jury and the winners were honored at a special event in Vaduz, Principality of Liechtenstein, on January 28, 2013.

15th Vernon Smith Prize (2022): …if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.

14th Vernon Smith Prize (2021): The Pretense of Knowledge as a Method of Governance

13th Vernon Smith Prize (2020): Is the Public Interest really in the public’s interest?

12th Vernon Smith Prize (2019): When the People fear their Government, there is Tyranny. When the Government fears the People, there is Liberty

11th Vernon Smith Prize (2018): Obscured by Fake News: The Politics, Morals, and Limits of Genetic Engineering

10th Vernon Smith Prize (2017): Does Tolerance become a crime when applied to evil?

9th Vernon Smith Prize (2016): Direct Democracy versus Representative Democracy. Cost and Benefits for the Citizenry!

8th Vernon Smith Prize (2015): Edward J. Snowden – Hero or Villian?

7th Vernon Smith Prize (2014): Trusting politicians with our money is like leaving a cat in charge of a cream jug.

6th Vernon Smith Prize (2013): Public Debt? Cheat the Citizen!

5th Vernon Smith Prize (2012): “A Government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” – George Bernhard Shaw

4th Vernon Smith Prize (2011): The Rule of Law in Decline – “It seems clear that a nominally unlimited (sovereign) representative assembly must be progressively driven into a steady and unlimited extension of the powers of government.” – Friedrich A. von Hayek

3rd Vernon Smith Prize (2010): Concurrent Currencies: A Choice in Money to Solve the Crisis?

2nd Vernon Smith Prize (2009): “This process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism. It is what capitalism consists in and what every capitalist concern has got to live in.” – Joseph A. Schumpeter

1st Vernon Smith Prize (2008): Nation, State, and Liberty – At the occasion of the 2nd. edition of Ludwig von Mises’ German original “Nation, Staat und Wirtschaft” ECAEF invited papers on this topic.

5th International Vernon Smith Prize

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