Symposium 2017
WINIR Symposium on
The legacy of Ludwig Lachmann:
Interdisciplinary perspectives on institutions, agency and uncertainty
11-13 April 2017
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Venue: PPS, Arcay House, 3 Anerley Road, Johannesburg 2193
Ludwig M. Lachmann (1906-1990) was an outstanding social scientist whose achievements ranged across a number of disciplines, including economics, sociology, law and philosophy. Well known for his work on Max Weber, his analysis of the limitations of equilibrium economics, and his contributions to the development of Austrian economics, Lachmann’s legacy revolves around three central themes: radical subjectivism, hermeneutics and human agency; market process and legal order; and capital theory and macroeconomics.
To celebrate Lachmann’s life and work, WINIR organised a Symposium in collaboration with the Institutions and Political Economy Group (IPEG) of the University of the Witwatersrand, Lachmann’s former university in South Africa where he was Head of the Department of Economics from 1949 to 1972. Submissions on any of the above topics, or any other topic related to Lachmann’s research, whether supportive or critical of Lachmann’s views, were welcome. The Symposium used Lachmann’s work as a point of departure to generate a wide-ranging discussion of the relations between uncertainty, agency and institutions.
The WINIR Symposium on Lachmann opened on the afternoon of Tuesday 11 April and ended in the afternoon of Thursday 13 April 2017.
Keynotes lectures were given by:
Deirdre N. McCloskey (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Richard N. Langlois (University of Connecticut & University of the Witwatersrand)
Virgil H. Storr (George Mason University)
The event also featured a special session on “Reminiscences of Lachmann” with his former students Martin Fransman (University of Edinburgh), Peter Lewin (University of Texas at Dallas), Jochen Runde (University of Cambridge), and Christopher Torr (University of the Witwatersrand).
53 delegates from 16 countries attended this event.
The symposium was organised by:
Francesca Gagliardi (f.gagliardi@herts.ac.uk), Giampaolo Garzarelli (giampaolo.garzarelli@gmail.com), David Gindis (d.gindis@herts.ac.uk), Geoff Hodgson (g.m.hodgson@herts.ac.uk), Lyndal Keeton (lyndal.keeton@wits.ac.za), Nobantu Mbeki (nobantu.mbeki@wits.ac.za) and Christopher Torr (christopher.torr@wits.ac.za), with the invaluable help of the WINIR Event Manager, Vinny Logan (vinny@vivarias.co.uk).
Generous support for the WINIR Symposium on Ludwig Lachmann was provided by