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The free marketeer Ludwig Erhard was the architect behind Germany’s spectacular economic recovery after the devastation of World War II.
Following World War II, Germany’s economy was in ruins and was made even worse by ongoing price controls implemented by the state. Ludwig Erhard, an economist from a humble background, immediately abolished all price controls when elected director of economics in occupied Germany. The result is what economists and historians call an economic miracle, but what Erhard himself believed was the natural result of an economy freed from bureaucracy and state intervention.
Paul Meany is the editor for intellectual history at Libertarianism.org, a project of the Cato Institute. Most of his work focuses on examining thinkers who predate classical liberalism but still articulate broadly liberal attitudes and principles. He is the host of Portraits of Liberty, a podcast about uncovering and exploring underrated figures throughout history who have argued for a freer world. His writing covers a broad range of topics, including proto-feminist writers, Classical Greece and Rome’s influence on the American Founding, ancient Chinese philosophy, tyrannicide, and the first argument for basic income.