{{Short description|American political scientist (born 1959)}} {{use American English|date=August 2025}} {{use mdy dates|date=August 2025}} {{infobox academic |birth_date={{birth date and age|1959|05|28}} |birth_place=Princeton, New Jersey |education={{plainlist| * Santa Barbara High School * University of California, Santa Barbara * London School of Economics }} }} '''Alan Oliver''' ('''Lanny''') '''Ebenstein''' (born May 28, 1959) is an American political scientist, economist, educator, and author, known best for his biographical works on prominent economists including Friedrich Hayek<ref>{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Rachel S. |title=Neo-liberal ideology: History, concepts and policies |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008}}</ref> and Milton Friedman.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Jamie Peck|last=Peck |first=Jamie |title=Constructions of neoliberal reason |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010}}</ref> He is a lecturer at University of California, Santa Barbara.
== Biography == Ebenstein was born in Princeton, New Jersey, to William Ebenstein (1910-1976), a noted political scientist, and Ruth Ebenstein.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1976-04-30 |title=Prof. William Ebenstein Dead; Writer on Political Science, 65 (Published 1976) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/30/archives/prof-william-ebenstein-dead-writer-on-political-science-65.html#:~:text=SANTA%20BARBARA,%20Calif.,%20April%2029%20(AP)%E2%80%94%20William%20Ebenstein,%20a%20professor&text=It%20was%20one%20of%20four%20books%20banned%20briefly%20in%201972%20for%20high%20school%20reading |access-date=2025-08-09 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>[http://viaf.org/viaf/108439380/ Ebenstein, William, 1910-1976] at viaf.org.</ref> He graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1977, where he was elected Associated Student Body President.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our History - Santa Barbara Unified |url=https://www.sbunified.org/about/district-historical-timeline |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=www.sbunified.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ASB Presidents |url=https://www.sbdonsalumni.com/asb-presidents.html |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=SANTA BARBARA HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION |language=en}}</ref> He obtained his BA at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1982, and his PhD at the London School of Economics in 1988.<ref name="ec 2015">[http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3072000065/ebenstein-alan-o-1959.html Ebenstein, Alan O. 1959–] at encyclopedia.com. Accessed 30-03-2015.</ref>
After his graduation, Ebenstein was an instructor at Antioch University from 1990 to 1996. In 1992, he ran unsuccessfully as the Republican nominee for California's 35th State Assembly District.<ref name="ec 2015"/> From 1990 to 1998 he was a member of the Santa Barbara Board of Education.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lanny Ebenstein {{!}} Department of Economics {{!}} UC Santa Barbara |url=https://econ.ucsb.edu/people/lecturers/lanny-ebenstein |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=econ.ucsb.edu}}</ref> Since 2005, he has been a visitor and lecturer in economic thought and history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2007 he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Santa Barbara.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pintado |first=Maria |title=Mayor: Blum gets another four years |url=https://www.thechannels.org/uncategorized/2007/08/30/mayor-blum-gets-another-four-years/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=The Channels}}</ref>
Ebenstein is well-known in the Santa Barbara community as a supporter and historian of public education.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Indy |date=2015-10-21 |title=Lanny Ebenstein Tells UCSB's History |url=https://www.independent.com/2015/10/21/lanny-ebenstein-tells-ucsbs-history/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=The Santa Barbara Independent |language=en-US}}</ref> He signed seven ballot arguments between 2008 and 2016 on behalf of school bonds and school parcel taxes in support of the Santa Barbara Unified School District and the Santa Barbara Community College District.
== Author == In 1991, Ebenstein co-edited the 5th edition of ''Great Political Thinkers: Plato to the Present,'' which was first published in 1951 by his father. Since the 1990s, he has written a series of biographies on economists, starting with Edwin Cannan in 1997, Friedrich Hayek in 2001,<ref>{{Cite news |title=The man who knew enough |url=https://www.economist.com/culture/2001/03/29/the-man-who-knew-enough |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250810092008/https://www.economist.com/culture/2001/03/29/the-man-who-knew-enough |archive-date=August 10, 2025 |access-date=2025-08-10 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> and Milton Friedman in 2007.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Too faithful a portrait |url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2007/02/22/too-faithful-a-portrait |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250110085551/https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2007/02/22/too-faithful-a-portrait |archive-date=January 10, 2025 |access-date=2025-08-09 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>
In 2015, Ebenstein published the highly acclaimed book, ''Chicagonomics: The Evolution of Chicago Free Market Economics''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-11-17 |title='Chicagonomics' and 'Economics Rules' (Published 2015) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/books/review/chicagonomics-and-economics-rules.html |access-date=2025-08-09 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref> ''Chicagonomics'' was named an "Editors' Choice" selection by the ''New York Times Book Review''<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-11-26 |title=Editors' Choice (Published 2015) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/books/review/editors-choice.html |access-date=2025-08-09 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref> and ''The Economist'' concluded its review of the book stating ''Chicagonomics'' "deserves to be read by all those with an interest in economic policy".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Going off the rails |url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2015/10/22/going-off-the-rails |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200427174305/https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2015/10/22/going-off-the-rails |archive-date=April 27, 2020 |access-date=2025-08-09 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> Ebenstein's works have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, and Vietnamese.
== Selected publications == * {{Cite book |title=Great Political Thinkers: Plato to the Present |publisher=Harcourt |year=1991 |editor-last=Ebenstein |editor-first=William |edition=5th |location=Fort Worth |ref=none |editor-last2=Ebenstein |editor-first2=Alan O.}} * {{Cite book |last=Ebenstein |first=Alan O. |title=The Greatest Happiness Principle: An Examination of Utilitarianism |year=1991 |ref=none}} * {{Cite book |last=Ebenstein |first=Alan O. |title=Collected Works of Edwin Cannan |publisher=Routledge Chapman & Hall |year=1998 |isbn=978-0415152198 |volume=1-7 |ref=none}} * {{Cite book |last=Ebenstein |first=Alan O. |url=https://archive.org/details/friedrichhayekbi00eben/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Friedrich Hayek: A Biography |publisher=Palgrave |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-312-23344-0 |location=New York |ref=none |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}} * {{Cite book |last=Ebenstein |first=Alan O. |title=Hayek's Journey: The Mind of Friedrich Hayek |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2003 |isbn=978-1403960382 |location=New York |ref=none}} * {{Cite book |last=Ebenstein |first=Lanny |url=https://archive.org/details/miltonfriedmanbi0000eben/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Milton Friedman: A Biography |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2007 |ref=none |url-access=registration}} * {{Cite report |url=http://californiacenterforpublicpolicy.com/Reforming-Public-Employee-Compensation-Pensions.pdf |title=Reforming Public Employee Compensation and Pensions |last=Ebenstein |first=Lanny |date=October 6, 2010 |publisher=California Center for Public Policy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208050652/http://californiacenterforpublicpolicy.com/Reforming-Public-Employee-Compensation-Pensions.pdf |archive-date=2011-02-08 |ref=none}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Summers |first=Adam |date=February 6, 2011 |title=Group Seeks to End Collective Bargaining for Public Employees in California |url=https://reason.org/commentary/end-collective-bargaining-ca/ |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=Reason Foundation}}</ref> * {{Cite book |last=Ebenstein |first=Lanny |title=The Indispensable Milton Friedman: Essays on Politics and Economics |publisher=Regnery |year=2012 |isbn=978-1596988088 |location=Washington, DC |ref=none}} * {{Cite book |last=Ebenstein |first=Lanny |title=Chicagonomics: The Evolution of Chicago Free Market Economics |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0230621954 |location=New York |ref=none}}
== References == {{reflist|2}}
== External links == {{wikiquote}} * [http://www.cato.org/people/alan-ebenstein Lanny Ebenstein, adjunct scholar] at cato.org * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121703/http://www.tfas.org/page.aspx?pid=1035 Dr. Alan Ebenstein: The Rise and Triumph of the Free Market] at tfas.org * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF1dQMN3M1k The Ideas and Impact of F. A. Hayek]. featuring Bruce J. Caldwell and Ebenstein, with comments by Dick Armey * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oQ56Mng_vg Alan Ebenstein - Friedrich Hayek: A Biography]. Alan Ebenstein talked about his book, ''Friedrich Hayek: A Biography'' * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCejUCZMkik Alan O. Ebenstein and Charles W. Baird | Friedrich Hayek and the Future of Liberty] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyv45IwyZZU Lanny Ebenstein: The Indispensable Milton Friedman] * {{C-SPAN|89801}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname = Alan Ebenstein}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebenstein, Alan Oliver}} Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:American political scientists Category:American educators Category:American non-fiction writers Category:University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Category:Academics of the London School of Economics Category:Antioch University alumni