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austrian economics

Posted on in News

Steve Bannon Unloads On Libertarians During Values Voters Summit In Washington D.C.

During today’s Values Voter Summit in Washington D.C., Breitbart News Executive Director Steve Bannon pulled no punches and zeroed in on many targets. He even set his ire toward libertarians, who he feels put too much of an emphasis on economic output and lose sight of the civic nationalism needed to bind America. Bannon specifically called out policy centers such as the Heritage Foundation, CATO Institute, and American Enterprise Institute for their constant support of free trade. He also critiqued for the Austrian school of economics for stressing that ‘everything is about the economy.’ He hopes to eventually bring these… Keep Reading

Posted on in News

Hans-Hermann Hoppe: Libertarians Must “Crush The Anti-Fascist Mob”

There has been a great deal of hype surrounding Austrian economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s ‘Libertarian and the Alt-Right’ speech that he delivered for his 12th annual Property and Freedom Society conference that took place last month in Bodrum, Turkey. The speech was finally released for the public yesterday, and it packed a serious punch. Eschewing political correctness, Hoppe delivered a brutal excoriation of social justice warriors, saying that it is incumbent upon libertarians to “crush the anti-fascist mob.” “Public anger must be aroused, and there must be clamoring far and wide for the police to be unleashed and this mob beaten… Keep Reading

Posted on in Culture

Ludwig von Mises Understood “Meme Magic”

One of the most consistent themes through the works of Ludwig von Mises is the role ideas play in shaping society. As he wrote in Theory and History: “Thoughts and ideas are not phantoms. They are real things. Although intangible and immaterial, they are factors in bringing about changes in the realm of tangible and material things.” How those ideas are transmitted has changed dramatically over time: from reliance on the spoken word, to the spread of print, to the rise of television, and to today’s digital word. Even within each era, new forms of communication have arisen. For example,… Keep Reading

economics, hands, politics
Posted on in Economics

‘Economics is Hard’: Groupthink is Why We’re in Such Bad Shape

In Principles of Economics, Carl Menger corrected the theoretical mistakes made by the old classical school. At the time, the founder of the Austrian School of economics seemed to want to make economics accessible to everyday people, which may explain why he exemplified the nature of economic value in his book, making sure readers understood that economics revolve around the actions of individuals. Described by many as “the best introduction to economic logic ever written,” Menger’s Principles inspired young economists like Ludwig von Mises to explore the populist nature of economics in an attempt to make the case that economics… Keep Reading

Posted on in Economics/Philosophy/Politics

Economics & History: Why This Connection Matters

In a recent article of mine, I debunked the red herring of  the “roads” argument that many modern socialists throw around. It turns out that lately this article has gotten some pretty lively responses from its critical readers. One such commenter was someone I might have expected to be on my side (politically speaking) as he was presumably a libertarian himself, but the road forked for us at economics. It seemed as if this gentleman was an adherent of the Austrian school (a.k.a. the fantasy football of economics), and he had a thing or two to say about my reasoning behind my aforementioned debunking.… Keep Reading

Posted on in Economics

Murray N. Rothbard: The Tupac Shakur of Economists

Although he passed away over two decades ago, death hasn’t stopped the iconic libertarian economist Murray N. Rothbard from releasing new material. According to Rothbard’s long-time confidant and biographer Justin Raimondo of Antiwar.com, a group of “lost columns” are going to be released to the public that Rothbard supposedly penned in the 1960’s alongside a new book about how libertarians should approach the crucial question of strategy. They will be edited by Raimondo himself and released through the Mises Institute. This isn’t the first time that Rothbard has conquered death to deliver the message of hardcore liberty to the masses.… Keep Reading

Posted on in Economics

James J. Hill and The Liquidation of Malinvestment

James J. Hill is unquestionably one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history.  This past weekend marked the 100th anniversary of his passing.  He is best remembered for the successful construction of the only transcontinental railroad to not go bankrupt.  He didn’t accept government subsidies, and argued eloquently against his competitors who did: “The government should not furnish capital to these companies, in addition to their enormous land subsidies, to enable them to conduct their business in competition with enterprises that have received no aid from the public treasury.” His endeavors can claim to be largely responsible for the settling… Keep Reading

Posted on in Philosophy

Freedom is Everything

Although there is very little on which we agree, Marxists and socialists have provided me with some excellent philosophical discussions.  One such person recently wrote this article in which he attempted to take to task the libertarian concept of freedom.  The piece starts out well enough as he does a decent job describing how libertarians view the concept: “What the libertarians mean by freedom is that the government does not interfere in the lives of private citizens.  If we were freed from government coercion, people would have a good life, because the free market would regulate our lives, and we… Keep Reading

Posted on in Economics

Hayek, Statistics, and Trade-Cycle Theory

Austrian economics is often caricatured and criticized because of its approach, or deliberate lack of an approach, to mathematical models, multivariable calculus, and econometrics. Attacks are leveled against Austrians such as Mises, Rothbard, and Kirzner for their failure or refusal to avail themselves of applied empirical research in their scholarship. The Austrian methodology most frequently targeted is praxeology. It is not the purpose of this short article to refute these attacks or to explore their errors and merits. That has been done ably by others (see, for example, the series of debate-essays available here, here, here, and here). Nor does… Keep Reading

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