Rothbard Speaks: Audio Clips and Tapes from Lectures of Murray N. Rothbard

History of Economic Thought (Part 2)
(Posted October 20, 2000) 

• What is the key to Marx? (2 min, 22 secs)   
• What is Marx's Theory of Value and its main flaw? (1 min, 58 secs)   
• What was the pietist movement in America that arose in the 1820s? (3 min, 30 secs)   
• What or who was the beginning of modern economics? (2 mins, 19 secs)   
• When was the first government paper money? (24 secs)   
• Who were the Physiocrats? (2 mins, 56 secs)   
• What was Turgot's contribution to economics? (1 min, 13 secs)   
• Why do people think that Adam Smith 'founded' modern economics? (2 mins, 39 secs)   
• Who was the first major figure in the Scottish Enlightenment tradition? (36 secs)   
• How do you differ from Hayek's interpretation of Mandeville? (32 secs)   
• What are Adam Smith's deviations from laissez-faire? (2 mins, 55 secs)

Austrian Theory (Part 2) 
(Posted October 20, 2000) 

• Who has been generally credited with "founding" Austrian economics? (23 secs)   
• This view has changed to include Menger. How do you think this affects Austrian history? (46 secs)   
• What was Bishop F?n?lon's plan to bring laissez-faire to France? (1 min, 36 secs)   
• What was one of Mises' favorite quotations? (18 secs)   
• What was Menger's basic contribution? (50 secs)   
• What is your view of the English classic school of economics? (1 min, 24 secs)   
• How do "mathematical economists" view the Austrian rejection of math? (41 secs)   
• What do you think of Alfred Marshall (author of Principles of Economics)? (1 min, 55 secs)   
• How do you sum up Menger's contribution to Austrian Economics? (24 secs)   
• What was Bohm-Bawerk's contribution? (45 secs)   
• What was Bohm-Bawerk's main criticism of Menger? (1 min, 28 secs)   
• Why has Bohm-Bawerk been attacked by "nihilist" forces within Austrianism? (38 secs)   
• What is your favorite quotation on Marx? (48 secs)

The Business Cycle (Part 2)
(Posted October 1, 2000) 

• Can you address the recession of 1958? (2 mins, 31 secs)   
• What are the origins of the predominant theory of the business cycle? (4 mins, 17 secs)   
• What is the Keynesian view of the role of government vis-a-vis the free market? (57 secs)   
• How do the theories of Mises and Hayek differ? (35 secs)   
• Why did the theories of Mises and Hayek originally attract attention? (1 min, 9 secs)   
• Why didn't the Austrian view of the business cycle prevail? (46 secs)   
• Why did the "establishment" accept Keynesianism so readily? (1 min, 3 secs)   
• How did Keynes answer his critics? (27 secs)   
• What about the Chicago school (Milton Friedman)? (30 secs)   
• Since the FDIC there have been fewer bank failures. Isn't this a good thing? (30 secs)   
• What purpose do anti-trust laws serve? (30 secs)   
• How would a free market prevent monopoly? (33 secs)

• How did the Federal Reserve Act come about?" (4 mins, 21 secs)   
• How did World War I affect the world's reliance on the gold standard? (2 mins, 58 secs)   
• Why are so many free market advocates suspicious of banks? (58 secs)   
• Why is investment banking particularly resented? (1 min, 38 secs)   
• How does US foreign policy relate to US banking? (1 min, 10 secs)   
• Why did America get into World War I? (3 mins, 46 secs)   
• What is fractional reserve banking?" (1 min, 11 secs)   
• Why do cartels fall apart? (1 min, 51 secs)   
• What are the roots of monopoly in America? (3 mins, 30 secs)   
• Explain the current alliance between government and intellectuals (2 mins, 8 secs)

• An anecdote about Mises (33 secs)   
• Why was the intial response to Mises's work so poor in America? (37 secs)   
• What is the essence of Austrian Economics? (40 secs)   
• What is the essence of praxeology? (36 secs)   
• What is the subjective theory of value? (55 secs)   
• What is the role of the capitalist entrepreneur in Austrian Economics? (35 secs)

• What is the function of the entrepreneur in economic equilibrium? (22 secs)   
• What is Mises's theory of the business cycle? (65 secs)   
• How do recessions end? (39 secs)   
• What supply of money is optimal? (39 secs)

• What is the basic business cycle theory developed by the Currency School? (3 mins, 40 secs)   
• Why is the industrial market economy so often blamed for the busts in business cycles? (1 min, 47 secs)   
• What role did government paper money play in early booms and busts? (1 min, 4 secs)   
• What theories opposed the currency schools' view of the business cycle? (1 min, 2 secs)   
• What is the Keynesian approach to business cycles? (1 min, 13 secs)   
• What the the Austrian view of recessions? (14 secs)   
• What is the Keynesian solution to depressions? (49 secs)   
• How can government promote recovery from recession? (33 secs)   
• Why doesn't a collapse or recession occur quickly when the money supply is expanded? (46 secs)   
• What caused the depression of 1929? (2 mins, 53 secs)   
• What is the proper role of the Federal Reserve? (5 secs)   
• Do you predict inflation or deflation? (17 secs)

• What is the calculation problem under socialism? (34 secs)   
• What is the incentive problem under socialism? (48 secs)   
• How does intervention cause problems? (40 secs)

• What was Adam's Smith's labor theory of value (38 secs)   
• How does time preference relate to 'usury?' (90 secs)   
• What is the value paradox? (76 secs)   
• How did the Marginal Revolution solve the diamond/water paradox? (90 secs)