 Some years ago in Germany there was an event that took place that would turn out to be a momentous for the Austrian school and For the cause of freedom and reason as well You're gonna Habermas the top Marxist in Germany had a brilliant student who had been raised up in socialism and That young man Hans Hopper came to the conclusion That socialism was not only deeply Amenical to human flourishing, but of course deeply immoral as well and So this young man who could have had and was certainly on headed to a brilliant establishment academic career Ending in a chair at a top university Didn't have that kind of a career because he chose the truth as versus to go along In the same sense that of course Mises and Rothbard did as well This young man later wrote to Murray Rothbard I can still remember Murray's Excitement and getting this letter from Hans that he wanted to come and study with Hans in New York and This had never happened to Murray before it should of course have happened to him But here was a student worthy of him colleague worthy of him What developed into a deep friendship Hans Went to New York study with Murray when Murray later was able to get his first chair in his first Appointment with graduate students at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He worked to bring Hans there with him and together the two of them Established a Center for Austrian economics and for libertarian political theory that While it was allowed to flourish before the Marxist became dean and other Memorial was saying all deans are evil. I hope we don't have any deans here, but One of Rothbard's laws So to the you know, they developed this and of course Hans has gone on in Tremendous number of books in teaching in example to carry the Rothbard tradition forward and All I can say Hans is if Murray were here today, he would be definitely saying at a boy Hans and So I'm just thrilled and honored on behalf of the Muses Institute Jeff Deist and all of us to present to Hans today the Murray and Rothbard Medal of Freedom made possible by the late George Connell was a Rothbardian engineer in parachute, Colorado I always love the name of that town and He would be thrilled as well that Hans was receiving this medal It's Tremendously well deserved. Dr. Hoppe. I just want to say thank you very much and express My my luck and fortune that I met Murray Rothbard Who is in my view? Of course the greatest of all social theorists who ever lived I met many Extremely bright men in my life. I never met a person like Murray Rothbard Murray was a genius I Always felt a Poor soul as compared with with him. I've never met anybody like him He knew More than anybody else seem to know He worked with an enormous speed He was witty and Humble and was an inspiration For all who had contact with him That the last ten years of his life Except for his wife. I probably spent more time with him than anybody else This I will be eternally grateful for this Fortune that was bestowed on me. Thank you