HES Presidential Address Hayek: Right for the Wrong Reasons?

The controversial question of whether the millennium began on January 1, 2000 or on January 1, 2001 weighed heavily on my mind as I composed my talk. The dilemma is, I should think, evident: Should a historian of thought want to give the last address of the old millennium, or the first address of the new one? I couldn't make up my mind about this, so I decided to consult my friends, particularly those whom I felt had given the question their considered attention. I asked David Colander, and he assured me that my preferences didn't matter, since he in fact had certainly given the final presidential address of the last millennium when he spoke in Greensboro the previous June. I then asked John Davis, and he assured me that my preferences didn't matter since he, in fact, was certainly going to give the first one of the new millennium, in 2001. Now being not nearly so stupid as I look, it occurred to me that if I listened to both of these individuals, there was a chance that I was going to give neither the last address of the old nor the first address of the new millennium. Feeling that this was, to put it mildly, an unacceptable outcome, I decided to disregard the ill-considered advice of my so-called friends and take firm control of the situation. Ladies and gentleman, I am very proud to be before you here today, delivering both the last presidential address of the old millennium and the first of the new one.