There are at least three distinct, but
overlapping, research programmes (to use Lakatos' term) in Austrian economics,
at least according to Rothbard. Each of these styles of thought can rightfully
claim to be based on Mengerian insight.
There is the Mises-Rothbard strand,
which emphasizes rationality, equilibrium as a mental construct, and theorizing
based on axioms and logical deduction. This comes directly from Menger's search
for "exact laws" of economics and human action.
A more prominent mode of thought, at least
among the mainstream, is the Hayek-Kirzner paradigm. Although this group can
easily be split up further, it generally emphasizes spontaneous order,
discovery procedures, and entrepreneurship. This can be derived from Menger's
discussion of organic and pragmatic orders and organizations. The classic
example of an organic order is the means of exchange, which spontaneously arose
to fulfill the need created by the problem of finding a "double coincidence of
wants".
Another, more controversial, research programme
is the Lachmann-Shackle school of radical subjectivism. This method of analysis
focuses on expectations, sociology, and disequilibriating elements in the
economic process. It shares some elements with the Post-Keynesians, although
these ideas are taken in drastically different directions. This draws on
Menger's role as one of the founders of subjectivism and claims to complete the
subjectivist revolution.