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intro to austrian economics lecture suggestions

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Jarred posted on Fri, Oct 10 2008 6:58 AM

I am looking for a lecture introducing austrian economics.  Any suggestions?

(edit):  I guess more information is in order.  I am a high school physics teacher with an interest in economics.  I just started a young economist club at the request of some of my students and am looking for a good introductory lecture for them.  I have read a lot by Mises, Rothbard, Hayek, Hazlitt, etc, but have not listened to any online lectures before.  I just don't have time to listen to a bunch of lectures looking for the best to suit my needs and am hoping the forum can guide my search.  any suggestions?

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How about this: http://www.mises.org/media.aspx?action=category&ID=89

This stuff really isn't difficult to find.

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Jarred replied on Fri, Oct 10 2008 7:08 AM

I recognize an intro lecture would not be hard to find, but I don't have time to find the best of those that are easily accessable.  I'm sure you understand.  Thanks for your help.

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Jarred:

I recognize an intro lecture would not be hard to find, but I don't have time to find the best of those that are easily accessable.  I'm sure you understand.  Thanks for your help.

It took less than a minute to find that, did you bother looking before you posted?

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"

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Jarred replied on Fri, Oct 10 2008 7:19 AM

I believe you are missing my point.  I appreciate your lecture suggestion.  Let us leave it at that because you clearly are more interested in chastising me than listening.

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... Take it easy gil

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Wouldn't it be wiser to not chase away people interested in Austrianism? To Jarred, I think you might want to check one of the Mises university collections. They typically have collections of lectures, many introductory, on a wide range of topics.

-Jon

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Answered (Not Verified) equack replied on Fri, Oct 10 2008 12:13 PM
Suggested by Jon Irenicus

Well, let's answer the man's question rather than giving him garbage. The Salerno and Klein lectures are very useful, but the link doesn't give them in the right order. There are also Rothbard's lectures which are amazing and even some of Mises' which are very hard to decipher the thick accent. However, for a beginner Austrian to find a good satisfactory introduction is hard without some help. I learned Austrian economics completely out of order than the traditional scholar; I started off with political philosophy then went into the economic theory, but I eventually developed a sense of the basis and what I should have started learning afterwards.

In my opinion, a good introduction to Austrian economics starts off with its core, praxeology or the science of action. A quick overview of its philosophical considerations may be desired, however, its the logical deductions which serve as the meat, if you will, of Austrian economics. I'll give you an outline of topics for an intro lesson. I'll include the respective links for each topic from Human Action and Man, Economy and State once I find them.

I. Praxeology "The Science of Human Action"

  • What is action? What isn't action?
  • Action vs. Instinct
  • The Goal of Action | Why act?
  • Means-End Relationship
  • Scarcity of Means | Abundance of Ends
    • Scarce Resources (Factors of Production)
      • Land, Labor, Capital and Time
  • Robinson Crusoe
  • Marginal Utility/Diminishing Marginal Utility

This is the basic list I came up with off the top of my head. Your next lecture should go right into exchange or catallactics as Mises called it. I'm prolly missing some crucial aspects or specific details, but once I find the respective pages in the two books I listed above, it should seem unambiguous to you and your students. However, you may have already read or are reading those two cornerstone works of Austrian economics.

Reason is the guiding light that shines through the veil of ignorance.

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Here's the link to the Mises university lectures. Basically, I also recommend structuring them in the way Mises would structure his presentation of it. Here's lecture notes from 2004, to give you an example.

-Jon

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Jon Irenicus:

Wouldn't it be wiser to not chase away people interested in Austrianism? To Jarred, I think you might want to check one of the Mises university collections. They typically have collections of lectures, many introductory, on a wide range of topics.

-Jon

You're right, I just thiink it's not that difficult to find.

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"

Bob Dylan

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Jarred replied on Wed, Oct 15 2008 10:05 AM

Thank you to all who responded.  Your help is appreciated.

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