John Sophocleus
Encyclopedia
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
political activist in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.
Career in economics
Sophocleus has taught economics at Clemson UniversityClemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
, Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
, and Auburn University Montgomery
Auburn University Montgomery
Auburn University at Montgomery is a coeducational public university located in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. It is governed by the Auburn University Board of Trustees, but is not a branch campus of Auburn University. It was established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967...
. He has been twice nominated to the Who's Who
Who's Who
Who's Who is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on a particular group of people...
Among American Teachers. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Mises Institute and occasionally lectures there, usually on United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
history. Sophocleus generally teaches the principles of microeconomics
Microeconomics
Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of how the individual modern household and firms make decisions to allocate limited resources. Typically, it applies to markets where goods or services are being bought and sold...
.
His 1988 article "The Social Cost of Rent-seeking" with David Laband, published in Public Choice, has been cited by Peter Leeson
Peter Leeson
Peter T. Leeson is BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University He authored The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates, a book in which he uses rational choice theory to examine the economic conditions and incentives that influenced pirate...
, Gordon Tullock
Gordon Tullock
Gordon Tullock is an economist and retired Professor of Law and Economics at the George Mason University School of Law. He is best known for his work on public choice theory, the application of economic thinking to political issues...
and others.
Political efforts
In 1996, he was the Libertarian PartyLibertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
candidate for U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in Alabama's 3rd congressional district
Alabama's 3rd congressional district
Alabama's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It encompasses Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell, Talladega, and Tallapoosa counties...
, opposing Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Bob Riley
Bob Riley (Alabama)
Robert Renfroe "Bob" Riley is an American politician in the Republican Party. He was the 52nd Governor of Alabama, first elected in 2002, and re-elected in 2006.-Early life:...
.
In 2002, Sophocleus entered the Alabama gubernatorial race
Alabama gubernatorial election, 2002
An Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. The race pitted incumbent Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat) against Representative Bob Riley, a Republican, and Libertarian nominee John Sophocleus....
on the Libertarian Party of Alabama's
Libertarian Party of Alabama
The Libertarian Party of Alabama is the Alabama affiliate of the Libertarian Party. Former chairs include Stephen Gordon, Mark Bodenhausen, Mark Thornton, and former Birmingham City Councilman ....
ticket against incumbent Don Siegelman
Don Siegelman
Don Eugene Siegelman is an American Democratic Party politician who held numerous offices in Alabama. He was the 51st Governor of Alabama for one term from 1999 to 2003...
and previous opponent Bob Riley. In the 2002 race, which was one of the closest in Alabama's history, Sophocleus received 23,242 votes (~2%), a number which was greater than the margin of victory in the race.
According to a 16 November 2002 New York Times editorial by John J. Miller
John J. Miller
John J. Miller is the national political reporter for National Review and contributor to its Web component, National Review Online...
:
- The only reason the governor's race in Alabama was so close this year as to be disputed beyond election night was that the Libertarian candidate, John Sophocleus, attracted 23,000 votes.
On 8 June 2006, in the wake of Stephen P. Gordon
Stephen P. Gordon
Stephen P. "Steve" Gordon is a libertarian political consultant with the firm Forward Focus Media and a political activist. He currently writes at The Next Right and The Liberty Papers and serves as the Media Director for the Alabama chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus.Gordon accepted the...
's acceptance of a position with the national Libertarian Party and subsequent resignation from the LPA Executive Committee, Sophocleus was named Vice-Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Alabama.
Eminent domain conflict
Beginning in 1998, Sophocleus was involved in litigation with the State of Alabama, the Alabama Department of TransportationAlabama Department of Transportation
The Alabama Department of Transportation is the government agency responsible for transportation infrastructure in Alabama. The department is divided into nine geographical divisions, with a central office located in Montgomery.-External links:...
, and others over the eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
seizure of his US Highway 280 home, near The Bottle, Alabama
The Bottle, Alabama
The Bottle, Alabama is a community located in the northern corporate limits of Auburn, Alabama. The Bottle is located at the intersection of U.S...
. Sophocleus contended that the state acted improperly by evicting
Eviction
How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...
him and allowing highway workers to live in his house for several months (while he still held legal title to the home) rather than immediately demolishing it as was stated would happen in United States district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
.