Percy L. Greaves Jr. (August 24, 1906 – August 13, 1984) was an American

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, and

presidential Presidential may refer to: * "Presidential" (song), a 2005 song by YoungBloodZ * Presidential Airways (charter), an American charter airline based in Florida * Presidential Airways (scheduled), an American passenger airline active in the 1980s * ...

candidate.

Biography

Greaves was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, on August 24, 1906. He received a B.S. in business administration,

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

, from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1929. He then enrolled in graduate courses in economics at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Greaves became the financial editor and research economist for the ''

United States News ''U.S. News & World Report'' (''USNWR'', ''US NEWS'') is an American media company publishing news, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis. The company was launched in 1948 as the merger of domestic-focused weekly newspaper ''U.S. News'' and ...

'' from 1934 to 1936. He resigned to take an executive job in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

; he traveled widely in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

until he returned to the US in 1938. Back in the States, he took a job directing research and survey activities for the

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, w ...

and did extensive political research. From 1943 to 1945, Greaves was Research Director for the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

. Greaves later served as Chief of Minority Staff for the 1945–1946 "Joint Congressional Investigation of the

Pearl Harbor Attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the ti ...

". Greaves was the chair of the Constitution Party when it was founded in 1952, but left shortly after, alongside cochair Suzanne Stevenson, after antisemitic remarks were made by party member Upton Close. He authored several books on economics, includin
''Understanding the Dollar Crisis''
(1973) an
''Mises Made Easier''
(1974). Greaves was a longtime associate and friend of

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; ; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American political economist and philosopher of the Austrian school. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the social contributions of classical l ...

, regularly attending his seminars. Greaves and his wife attended Mises' graduate seminar at the New York University Graduate School of Business Administration each year from 1950 to 1969. He was also a seminar speaker for the

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian economics, economic think tank. Founded in 1946 in New York City, FEE is now headquartere ...

. Greaves served on the

Institute for Historical Review The Institute for Historical Review (IHR) is a United States–based nonprofit organization that promotes Holocaust denial. It is considered by many scholars to be central to the international Holocaust denial movement. Self-described as a "his ...

(IHR) Editorial Advisory Committee and frequently wrote for IHR's ''Journal of Historical Review'', generally about Pearl Harbor revisionism. In the

1974 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1974. Africa * 1974 Botswana general election * 1974 Guinean general election * 1974 Kenyan general election * 1974 Rhodesian general election * 1974 Seychellois parliamentary election * 1974 South Af ...

, Greaves was an unsuccessful

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candidate in New York for the Free Libertarian Party.

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School,Ronald Hamowy, ed., 2008, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism', Cato Institute, Sage, , p. 62: "a leading economist of the Austri ...

had commented the same year that Greaves "believes in taxation, and ... favors the draft." Greaves was nominated as the 1980 presidential candidate for the American Party, with Frank L. Varnum as his running mate. They received 6,648 votes. The state parties of Kansas and Minnesota were unhappy with Greaves's moderate stance on

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

and put anti-Greaves tickets on their ballot lines, winning 1,555 and 6,136 votes respectively. Greaves had also sought the nomination of the

American Independent Party The American Independent Party (AIP) is an American political party that was established in 1967. The American Independent Party is best known for its nomination of Democratic then-former Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who carried five s ...

but was defeated. Greaves died due to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 1984. He was survived by his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren. In 2010, Percy's wife completed an unfinished manuscript left behind after his death and it was published posthumously by the

Ludwig von Mises Institute The Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, that is a center for Austrian economics, right-wing libertarian thought and the paleolibertarian and anarcho ...

as ''Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy''.

Publications

Articles
"Does Government Spending Bring Prosperity?"
''

The Freeman ''The Freeman'' (formerly published as ''The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty'' or ''Ideas on Liberty'') was an American libertarian magazine, formerly published by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). It was founded in 1950 by John Chambe ...

'' (February 1955). Books
''Understanding the Dollar Crisis''.
Belmont, Mass.: Western Islands (1973). Foreword by

. Hazlitt, Henry. Review of ''Understanding the Dollar Crisis'', by Percy L. Greaves, Jr. ''Books for Libertarians'', vol. 3, no. 3 (March 1974), p. 4
Full issue.
/ref>
''Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy''.
Auburn, Ala.:

(2010). Edited by Bettina B. Greaves.
''On the Manipulation of Money and Credit: Three Treatises on Trade-Cycle Theory''.
Indianapolis:

Liberty Fund Liberty Fund, Inc. is an American nonprofit foundation headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, that promotes the libertarian views of its founder, Pierre F. Goodrich, through publishing, conferences, and educational resources. The operating mandat ...

(2011). Translated, with a foreword, by Bettina Bien Greaves. Book contributions
"The Pearl Harbor Investigations"
(Chapter 7). In
''Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace''
by

Harry Elmer Barnes Harry Elmer Barnes (June 15, 1889 – August 25, 1968) was an American historian who, in his later years, was known for his historical revisionism and Holocaust denial. After receiving a PhD at Columbia University in 1918 Barnes became a pro ...

. Caldwell, Ida.: Caxton Printers (1953). . * "Is Further Intervention a Cure for Prior Intervention?" (Chapter 9). In
''On Freedom and Free Enterprise: Essays in Honor of Ludwig von Mises''.
Edited by Mary Sennholz. New York: D. Van Nostrand (1956), pp. 285–307..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greaves, Percy L. Jr. 1906 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Social scientists from Brooklyn American Independent Party politicians American Party (1969) politicians American historical negationists New York (state) Libertarians New York (state) Republicans Academics from Brooklyn Candidates in the 1980 United States presidential election 20th-century American economists Syracuse University alumni Historians from Brooklyn 20th-century American male writers

Biography

Publications

See also

References