Tick, tick. . ., tick.
These were the sounds that regularly echoed in the second-floor hallways of Shirin Hall at Clemson University before the 1980s. The sound of metal hitting metal could have been expected to send a clear message to the economists on the floor at 10 a.m.: “It’s time for coffee!”
The sound was undoubtedly coming from the steel leg brace that Professor Hugh Macaulay had been wearing since he was shot in France during World War II. He proudly volunteered for service.
This “click” coincides with a knock on Hugh’s office door, and for the treat of the day, no fewer than eight economists in the faculty are summoned to discuss the latest market control proclamations coming out of Washington. A lively policy discussion took place at the shop. Our discussions always started when he left Sirine and hiked 300 yards to the “dining room.” This cafeteria was so named when the students at the university were all male and all were cadets.
The life of Clemson University alumnus and professor of economics, Professor Hugh H. Macaulay, would have celebrated his 100th birthday today. Those of us who were his colleagues and friends admire his life as an economist and as a moral influence in the lives of all of us and in the lives of his students. Hugh remains one of “the most unforgettable characters I’ve ever met.” Reader’s Digest The most popular series. He is also remembered as one of the industry’s most staunch market advocates, always finding fault with proposals that constrained market processes.
Professor Macaulay died of kidney cancer on 5 October 2005 at the age of 81.
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Hugh always wore a bow tie…always! And they were made by his wife, Frances, and are rather known as “Pinky” to those who know the Macaulay family. She was the love of Hugh’s life, his partner, colleague and soulmate. She made a bow tie from an old tie. Nothing was wasted in the Macaulay household.
Hugh had his own dress code. Not so long ago, this might have been called “Sunday meeting attire.” His hair had been cut nearby. His face was full of life. His dark eyes danced as he talked and laughed with others. If you didn’t know the meaning of Victorian behavior before, you will after spending time with Hugh.
Style meant nothing to him that day. It meant everything to me to present the right model to my students. In my 35 years of observing Job up close, including moments that may have tested his patience, I have never once heard Hugh utter a word that wouldn’t qualify him for My Weekly Reader. I can say that there was no such thing.
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Hugh Macaulay knew better and followed his word. adam smith found in him moral sentiment theory: “One should think a lot about others and little about oneself.” He said this to me early in my career, when I had not yet recovered from my Ph.D. “Bruce, everyone you’re going to meet, even the janitor, is going to know something you don’t know.” We must treat them all with great respect. ”
Hugh had a keen intellect and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and opportunities to converse about ideas. But he had one idea that stood out above all others. economy. In this regard, in the words of J.M. Clark, Hugh had an “irrational passion for cold rationality.”
Hugh was an economist at heart. Economics was in his DNA. And Hugh’s economics was not just old economics either.Adam Smith’s market economics, price theory, trade, and Financial policy. It was what we in the industry call Old Time Religion. Hugh was an unabashed lover of market competition and personal freedom. No, he was more of an evangelist than a lover.
And was he ever good? When I had a problem with international financial matters, which I did quite often, I went to Hugh. He begins by explaining the principles and then moves on to applications. And before you know it, with a sprinkle of Macaulay’s well-known wit, the answer becomes crystal clear.
Going out for coffee with Hugh may have been a lot of fun and hilarious, but the coffee discussion was serious business. everytime, everytime, Hugh brought a pen and pad. If no one else asked a question, Hugh asked his own question and subsequently drew his supply and demand curve. Our discussions were sometimes raucous, but always good-natured and full of laughter. We all learned from the Master and tried to emulate him.
Those who enjoyed Hugh’s story in our book club discussions knew what would happen if someone even suggested that government solutions to economic problems were more effective than the market. Hugh asked in a disappointed tone, “Didn’t you hear that?” And lest we forget, he persisted for a while, often quoting his favorite authorities, starting with Adam Smith, such as: milton friedmanthen Ronald CoaseAnd we end with Will and Arial Durant. It incorporates their work into a fully integrated classical liberal thought.
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Hugh was an economist, but not just an economist. Hugh was a teacher at heart. He is a research teacher. teacher of life. He was born to be in the classroom…and he knew it.
His student? They were the joy of his life. His door was always open…and so was his house. Hugh and Pinky have lost count of the number of times he has had students in his home, and even though he was a strict grader, he still makes sure they understand his lectures and why he thinks the way he thinks. His thoughtfulness captivated his students. . Unsurprisingly, many of his students left his class and said, “I’d rather take another Macaulay course and get a D than take someone else’s course and get an A.” “I said it with confidence.
For many, Hugh was the one who set them on a new path, writing personal and detailed letters recommending graduate schools and jobs, and later dropping notes of congratulations when they were recognized for their work. It was a person. Long after Hugh retired in 1980, his colleagues at Clemson were often asked, “What about Professor Macaulay?”
In the words of one of Hugh’s former students: “It’s hard to say enough good things about Professor Hugh Macaulay now to those who have followed in his footsteps and who have been helped by the time and papers he gave to them.” There’s no need.” His goodness was evident in the way he conducted his life and treated others with respect and courtesy. ” At the same time, those of us who knew him feel compelled on this memorable day to forcefully announce that every economics department needs a Hugh Macaulay. Hugh Macaulay is a man who is committed in word and deed to the essential wisdom of Adam Smith, both in economics and economics. his interdependent masterpiece, national wealth, and Theory of Moral Sentiments.
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I stopped by to see Hugh, if not for hours, during his hospital stay and on his final days. Hugh was still under sedation from surgery and he did not appear to be fully awake. Still, Pinky insisted that I come into the house and talk to her.
“Hmm,” I said, “I’m here to tell you that markets work.” This completely excited him. “Thanks for letting me know, Bruce,” he replied. “I thought that might be the case. Now I was convinced that I could die in peace.” With that, he let out the famous Macaulay laugh. Pinky and I both laughed.
Hugh Macaulay was one of the great human beings.
Bruce Yandle is co-founder of the Clemson Capitalism Institute
Professor Emeritus of Economics at George Mason University and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Distinguished Mercatus Center. He specializes in public choice, regulation, and free market environmentalism.
