Last night, I saw on Facebook that John Blundell died yesterday. He was only 61 years old. Less than two months ago, I had posted on his personal reminiscences of the three Austrian economics conferences in the mid-1970s, two of which I had attended. As I did then, I recommend his article for those who are interested in Austrian economics and/or the various personalities involved.

I should have noted, when I posted, my high regard for John’s integrity. In his article, John told of one instance that he remembered positively. When he sent me a draft, I wrote back my recollections of that same incident. My recollections were completely negative. And my memory is crystal clear because I thought my own bad behavior and subsequent recovery were an important part of my becoming a real adult. I had not expected John to quote me, but was delighted that he did. [See footnote 7.] I hate “official histories” that airbrush the negative.

Sadly, this is how he ends his article:

In case the reader is wondering, Phase II [of the Austrian economics revival] came to an end in 1982 when IHS ran out of money. I will write elsewhere of Phases III, IV and today’s V.

My condolences to his family.