[Salon] Hannah Arendt, Leo Strauss and Hans Morgenthau



Dear Todd

This is a story that I think you will enjoy. After graduating from U.C. Berkeley in Economics, I started my graduate studies at the U of Chicago in 1965. At that time Hannah Arendt, Leo Strauss, and Hans J. Morgenthau were all teaching there. Chicago was an excitingly diverse place. Of them, however, I only actually met Morgenthau. The year before he had spoken at Berkeley (the Free Speech Movement year at Berkeley). I was mesmerized by his speech and full of questions that I wanted to ask him. I thought to myself many times that I would give anything to be able to talk with him for a while and ask my questions.  Low and behold, one day at Chicago in Harper Library I stepped into the elevator and there, all by himself, was Hans J. Morgenthau. I was speechless and couldn’t think of a single question as we rode up together in silence where I stepped out to chat with my future dissertation advisor (Milton Friedman). We talked about the "Chicago Boys" just arrived from Chile, who the department chairman, Arnold Harberger, had arranged to come from Chile to study at Chicago. Harberger taught classes in Santiago and was married to a Chilean woman.

Sincerely,

Warren Coats
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