X: The Only Conference Worth Attending: A Personal Account of the 11th Conference of the Property & Freedom Society

by Stephan Kinsella on September 10, 2016

Another nice write-up of the recently-concluded 2016 PFS Annual Meeting by second-time attendee X.

Commentary on previous meetings. Media from the presentations will be made available here in due course.

The Only Conference Worth Attending

10 September, 2016

The Only Conference Worth Attending: A Personal Account of the 11th Conference of the Property & Freedom Society
By X
(10th September 2016)

In an age when most conference speeches are almost automatically uploaded to Vimeo or YouTube, why bother going to the conference in person? Surely, it is so much more enjoyable to watch the conference speeches in the comfort of your own living room from your laptop, one per night for about a week? Conferences are generally awful. The speakers can be dull. The room might be ugly. The chairs might be uncomfortable. The food – if there is any – might be inedible. There is never any entertainment. Why bother going?

This holds up pretty well for most conferences, but not for the annual conference of the Property & Freedom Society, hosted by Professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe and Dr. Guelcin İmre Hoppe at the gorgeous Hotel Karia Princess in Bodrum, Turkey. As Dr İmre Hoppe put it last year in her own speech, the PFS is the Club Med of conferences.

The annual meetings of the PFS are the only conferences designed as if the attendees actually mattered. As I said, other conferences are awful. I could now start a long digression on the particular flaws of all the other conferences I attend, but that would not be very charitable. Instead, I will explain just what it is about the annual meetings in Bodrum that makes them so enormously enjoyable.

Taken by Sean Gabb

First, the format is leisurely. The formal proceedings start late, after a comfortable window for breakfast, and then after a few speeches there is a long lunch break. The formal proceedings then resume and are over with long before dinner, allowing bags of time to read, dress, shower, sunbathe, swim, play tennis, nap, or whatever else takes your fancy. Oh, and after every speech there is a 15 minute coffee break. These breaks are essential, and yet I can’t recall attending any other conference with them. Instead, what usually follows speeches at most poorly organised conferences is a long “Q & A” session, which basically just becomes an excuse for bores to drone on and on while hogging the microphone – and occasionally they might actually have a question! At PFS, this is remedied by the use of panel sessions at the end of every day of speeches, which work much better than monotonous questions and answers. After every speech, Professor Hoppe stands up and reminds everyone of the welcome 15 minute break and attendees stretch their legs, drink coffee or water, or go outside to smoke. At this point the conference room and the one adjoining it becomes filled with conversation – on all manner of topics, not just the contents of the last speech. I will return to the topic of conversations later, but here I will just stress the importance of it.

Me asking a question to one of the panel sessions, about big business I think.

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Block: Hans Hoppe’s PFS Conference in Turkey, a Report

by Stephan Kinsella on September 9, 2016

Another great write-up of the recently-concluded 2016 PFS Annual Meeting by first-time attendee Walter Block.

Commentary on previous meetings. Media from the presentations will be made available here in due course.

Hans Hoppe’s PFS Conference in Turkey, a Report

Walter E. Block

What are the negatives? The trip took me roughly an entire 24 hour day (New Orleans does not have a hub airport). My internal time clock was messed up quite a bit, both coming and going. The food was so good, and there was so much of it, that I gained five pounds in less than a week. Otherwise, this was an excellent experience.

I just spent one of the most marvelous weeks in my entire career at this conference, hosted by my good friend Hans Hoppe: September 1-6, 2016. PFS 2016; Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society.

It was a magnificent event. The speakers were excellent, all of them. That alone, is a rarity in events of this sort. Usually, a few are boring, or have views contrary to Austro-libertarianism; not here, not here. Please take a peek at all the speakers. I want to single out only two. First, the man himself, Hans. I summarize his speech (explaining his argumentation ethics and defending it against critics) in three words: Johan Sebastian Bach, my favorite composer. As usual, Hans was simply scintillating. Like Bach, his arguments were organized, brilliant, inexorable. The other speaker I’d like to mention is X. He is only 18 years old, but more than held his own in this august company. He reminded me of a very young Roy Childs, who was my teacher at the Freedom School in Colorado when he was only 17 years old. Both Keir (now) and Roy (then) were just out of diapers a few months before I met them, and both were world class scholars of very tender years. I expect great things from this young man.

But most conferences I go to have excellent speakers. The difference, here, was the audience. I didn’t speak to each and every last participant, only, maybe, 2-3 dozen, but each and every one of them (doctors, lawyers, computer experts, even a weight-lifting instructor) were very, very knowledgeable about Rothbard, Mises, Hayek, and, of course Hoppe. Hans suggested that I may have had personal conversations only with a positively biased sample, but I spoke to maybe one third of the group over the four conference days, and I think they were typical: enthusiastic, knowledgeable, virtually all of them an-caps, very Rothbardian (a litmus test for me). Yes, those people who approached me, who complimented me on my contributions to Austro-libertarianism constituted a biased sample in my favor. However, I also approached participants during mealtimes. Typically, there would be three people seated at a table for four, or five at a table for six, and I would ask if there were any room for me at the empty spot. Those people I ate meals with in this way were surely a random sample of the PFS participants. And, yet, they, too, were just as knowledgeable and enthusiastic about our movement as any others.

Another high point for me was at the end of each day, when all the speakers formed a panel, and responded to questions and comments from the audience. I must also mention that I spent some 24 hours with my old friend and fellow speaker Doug Casey enroute back home, which was an unexpected pleasure.

Hans does not run things at a frantic pace. No event started earlier than 10:30am. There were 15 minute coffee breaks after each 30 (or 60) minute talk. We had 3 hour lunch breaks. That boat trip on the last day of the conference was heavenly. The food and lodgings were at a 5 star level. Hans’ wife, Gulcin, was a glamorous hostess.

A word about Turkey, at least the Istanbul and Bodrum Airports, and Bodrum, the town on the south west Mediterranean coast of the country. The airports were cleaner than any in the U.S. Bodrum’s streets and highways were less potholed than many places in the U.S., and far cleaner. There was no crime that I could see. I felt far safer there than in the U.S. People warned me about going to this country; my life would be in danger. They hate Jews. They hate Americans. I’d be attacked. I’d be put in jail. Nonsense. No, nonsense on stilts. The place reminded me of Vancouver, Canada, and Acapulco, Mexico. Very safe world-class tourist attractions.

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Gabb: Notes from the Eleventh Conference of the Property and Freedom Society

by Stephan Kinsella on September 7, 2016

pfs-2016-008 A fantastic write-up of the recently-concluded 2016 PFS Annual Meeting by regular attendee Sean Gabb. Commentary on previous meetings by Sean and others. Media from the presentations will be made available here in due course.

Sean GabbEvents, Liberty

Notes from the Eleventh Conference of the Property and Freedom Society

7 September, 2016

Notes from the Eleventh Conference of the Property and Freedom Society
in Turkey, September 2016
By Sean Gabb

Bodrum, 30^th August 2016

“We’re not going there!” said Mrs Gabb last month, when the BBC showed footage of the military coup in Turkey.

“Oh, certainly not,” I said, playing for time.

I’ve no doubt the coup was a nuisance for many other people beside the Gabb family. But it was a nuisance for me. A few days before, we’d agreed our plans for the summer. A drive to Slovakia at the end of July. Three weeks with the in-laws outside Pezinok. Then, instead of committing ourselves to the same boring old motorways back to Dunkirk, a new drive – Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria; crossing into Turkey, a few days looking round Istanbul; then across the Bosporus into Asia Minor, and the long motorway to Bodrum. From there, we’d strike out into the hinterland – Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, possibly Laodicea. It would, we agreed, be a wonderful adventure for us, and would give our daughter an endless fund of stories to impress her friends at school. One look at those artillery shells going off on the telly, and the whole thing was right off the menu.

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[Interview] Libertarian Mayor of Vilnius Speaks!

by Stephan Kinsella on March 30, 2016

The following profile of PFS member Remigijus Šimašius recently appeared in Laissez Faire Today.

***

[Interview] Libertarian Mayor of Vilnius Speaks!

By Chris Campbell

Mar 28, 2016

If you’re a long-suffering reader of our missives, you might recall that last year we visited Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

While there, we learned that the mayor of Vilnius, Mr. Remigijus Šimašius, is libertarian and anarcho-capitalist. It was a story, we believed, too good to pass up.

Unfortunately, though, we had to. Mayors are, we presume, busy people. And we were only in the city for a few days.

But, all hope wasn’t lost. We were lucky enough to meet a man named Peter who, fortunately, had a connection to the Mayor.

Peter, as a quick aside, owns one of the strangest hostels we’ve ever visited. (And we mean that, by the way, as a high compliment.)

It’s called Jimmy Jumps.
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PFS 2016 Annual Meeting—Speakers and Presentations

by Stephan Kinsella on January 5, 2016

The 2016 Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society was held from Thursday, September 1, 2016, to Tuesday, September 6, 2016, in Bodrum, Turkey, at the Hotel Karia Princess. (N.B. the meeting was held slightly earlier than in recent years, in order not to conflict with a major moving Muslim holiday.)

Speakers and presentations are listed below, with links to YouTube versions of the presentations on the PFS YouTube channel, in particular at the PFS 2016 YouTube Playlist. Audio is available at the Property and Freedom Podcast.

Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), “Introductions, Day 1, Morning Sessions”
- Olivier Richard (Switzerland), On Free and Compulsory Education
- Rahim Taghizadegan (Austria), On the Rise and Fall of the University
Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), “Introductions, Day 1, Afternoon Sessions”
- X (England), “How Glorious was the ‘Glorious Revolution’?”
- Sean Gabb (England), “Margaret Thatcher—Hero or Villain?”
- Daniel Model (Liechtenstein; Model Holding), On the Hardship of Doing Business (in Switzerland)
- Richard, Taghizadegan, Martland, Gabb, Model: “Discussion—Q&A”
Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), “Introductions, Day 2, Morning Sessions”
- Heiner Rindermann (Germany), “Cognitive and Cultural ‘Enrichment’ of Europe by Immigration”
- Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof (Germany), On the Many Fathers of World War II
Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Introductions, Day 2, Afternoon Sessions”
- Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England), “On Bogus Illnesses and Their Enablers”
- Norman Stone† (UK/Turkey), On Politics and Religion
- Rindermann, Daniels, Schultze Rhonhof, Stone: “Discussion—Q&A“
Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Introductions, Day 3, Morning Sessions
- Walter Block (USA), “Market Failure” – Fact or Fiction?
- Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), On the Ethics of Argumentation
Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Introductions, Day 3, Afternoon Sessions
- David Dürr (Switzerland), On How to Take the State to Court
- Doug Casey (USA), On Prospecting the World’s Regions
- Block, Hoppe, Dürr, Casey, “Discussion—Q&A“

♠ ♠ ♠

The Property and Freedom Society (Facebook page) was established in May, 2006 at the initiative of world-renowned libertarian philosopher and Austrian economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe. The Inaugural Meeting and subsequent annual meetings have been held at the Hotel Karia Princess in Bodrum, Turkey. Programmes and video of previous presentations are available here.

The PFS is an international society for the promotion of “Austro-Libertarianism,” the economic and social philosophy most prominently represented during the 20th century by the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises and his leading American student Murray N. Rothbard, and tying back to the 19th century French economists Frederic Bastiat and Gustave de Molinari. As such, the PFS stands for an uncompromising intellectual radicalism: for justly acquired private property, freedom of contract, freedom of association—which logically implies the right to not associate with, or to discriminate against—anyone in one’s personal and business relations—and unconditional free trade. It condemns imperialism and militarism and their fomenters, and champions peace.

In the words of Professor Hoppe in 2010, at the Fifth Annual Meeting:

After the first meeting, 5 years ago, here at the Karia Princess, my plan became more specific still. Inspired by the charm of the place and its beautiful garden, I decided to adopt the model of a salon for the Property And Freedom Society and its meetings. The dictionary defines a salon as “a gathering of intellectual, social, political, and cultural elites under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation.” Take the “political” out of this definition—and there you have it what I have tried to accomplish for the last few years, together with Gülcin, my wife and fellow Misesian, without whose support none of this would be possible: to be hostess and host to a grand and extended annual salon, and to make it, with your help, the most attractive and illustrious salon there is. [Video here and streamed below]

For further information, see:

- - PFS, History and Principles
  - Hoppe, The Property And Freedom Society—Reflections After Five Years, The Libertarian Standard (June 10, 2010)
  - Hoppe, The Role of the Property and Freedom Society in a Crazy World (May 21, 2009, Property and Freedom Society 2009 Annual Meeting Introductory Speech, Bodrum, Turkey)
  - Hans-Hermann Hoppe & Gulcin Imre Hoppe, 2006–2015: PFS, Now and Then
  - Sean Gabb, 10 Years of PFS

PFS 2010 – Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Welcoming Remarks. The PFS – After Five Years from Sean Gabb on Vimeo.

♠ ♠ ♠

For further information about the PFS and its previous meetings, see the Press & Offsite Material page, and various articles such as:

- Sean Ring: The Chief Event (Oct. 4, 2012)
- Andy Duncan: Inside the conspiracy: Property and Freedom Society, Bodrum, Turkey, 2012 (Oct. 3, 2012)
- Doug French on PFS 2012: The World’s Greatest Haircut (Oct. 2, 2012)
- Jeff Tucker on PFS 2012: The Center of the Conspiracy (Sep. 29, 2012)
- June 8, 2011: “Outside the Asylum: Property and Freedom Society, Bodrum, Turkey, 2011,” by Andy Duncan, Cobden Centre (republished as “A Few Days outside the Asylum,” Mises Daily, June 15, 2011)
- June 17, 2010: “Reflections on the 2010 Conference of the Property and Freedom Society,” by Sean Gabb, Free Life Commentary, Issue Number 194
- June 16, 2010: “Bodrum Days and Nights: The Fifth Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: A Partial Report,” Stephan Kinsella, The Libertarian Standard
- July 4, 2008: “The Third Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Bodrum, May 2008: A Brief Record,” Sean Gabb, Free Life Commentary No. 173
- June 4th 2007: Report on the second PFS conference in Bodrum [local copy], by Rahim Taghizadegan, liberty.li (in German)
- June 21st 2006: Hoppean Property and Freedom by Doug French,LewRockwell.com
- June 14th 2006: The Inaugural Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: An Incidental Record, by Sean Gabb, Free Life Commentary, Issue Number 148

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Hoppe, “The Property And Freedom Society—Reflections After Five Years” (PFS 2010)

by Stephan Kinsella on December 1, 2015

Professor Hoppe’s speech, “The Property And Freedom Society—Reflections After Five Years,” was delivered June 4, 2010, at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the PFS. Video is embedded below. A text version was published at LewRockwell.com, and also at VDARE (The Property And Freedom Society—Reflections After Five Years, June 9, 2010) and The Libertarian Standard (The Property And Freedom Society—Reflections After Five Years, June 10, 2010). It is available also in a Spanish translation: La Sociedad “Propiedad y Libertad”–Reflexiones después de cinco años).

See also Professor Hoppe’s On Democracy, De-Civilization, and the Quest for a New Counterculture (LewRockwell.com, September 28, 2015).

PFS 2010 – Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Welcoming Remarks. The PFS – After Five Years from Sean Gabb on Vimeo.

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