George Stigler's rhetoric: dreams of Martin Luther

It is not surprising that the work of the mature economist can often be discerned in his earlier works. Ideas evolve over time and change but rarely do they mutate into unrecognizable theories and analysis. However it is rare that an economist accurately lays out the trajectory of his life’s work in a series of lectures. Yet in a not sufficiently appreciated set of five lectures given at the London School of Economics in March of 1948, George Stigler made it clear not only what work he intended to accomplish but how he aimed to change the economics profession itself. For the post-war counter-revolution that aimed to displace Keynesianism as the prevailing doctrine, this set of lectures formed a parallel to Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the Castle Church in Wittenberg. This article demonstrates the way in which these five short lectures form a complete doctrine and how in later years George Stigler implemented his blueprint.