Austrian Economics Overview

In our times, a major reason, and perhaps the major reason, for the phenomenal progress of the ideas of liberty is the work of the Mises Institute.

In our times, a major reason, and perhaps <i>the</i> major reason, for the phenomenal progress of the ideas of liberty is the work of the Mises Institute. This is the infrastructure that gives rise to and supports all the rest. We need your help.

I would like to tell you more about our philosophy and the work that we do, with the hope that you will join me in <a href="https://mises.org/donate.aspx">becoming a financial supporter</a>.

[This speech was delivered at the offices of the Mises Institute, September 14, 1999, the date on which

Profit and loss is the heart of business and economic change. Entrepreneurs drive the market at every level, predicting future wants and taking risks with their property. Earning profits is never guaranteed.

The Gilded Age ushered in industrial leaders in capitalistic achievement. Success in the world of commerce reflected certain characteristics.

Instead of each person doing all of the work creating what he needs and wants, dividing the labor amongst all of us into specialties is clearly superior by increasing the productivity of labor.

Austrian economists differ from mainstream economists mainly in this way: they do not rely on mathematical models, but on understanding what causes success or failure in the real world. Opportunity costs determine the choices people make.

Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 8 October 2010.

Recorded at FreedomFest, 10 July 2010. Includes an introduction by Douglas E. French.