Other Schools of Thought

The Austrian economics framework shows that subjective valuation is not shown to be arbitrary, but rather purposeful, as people place values on things via a means-end framework.

Consumer spending does not drive the economy. On the contrary, saving, investment, and entrepreneurship are the critical components of economic growth.

Ryan and Josh Mawhorter talk about how Thomas Hobbes, even nearly 400 years later, remains a popular spokesman for almost limitless state power. In fact, by Hobbes's logic, the world should by ruled by a single global dictatorship. 

Bob uses clips from his recent interview with Eric Weinstein to explain why Weinstein thinks gauge theory can fix how economists measure the cost of living, and why Austrians shouldn’t dismiss him as a crank.

Connor O’Keeffe explains why the New Right’s economic populists have adopted a progressive myth of “laissez-faire gone wrong,” and instead shows how a century of inflation, bailouts, regulation, and managed trade has rigged the system against younger Americans.

Bob walks through a recent WIRED video on “the economics behind the Great Depression,” correcting its claims on lax regulation, Hoover’s alleged inaction, the role of the Fed and the gold standard, and the notion that World War II ended the slump.

Bob revisits capital and interest theory to show why the textbook result “interest = MPK” only holds in a one-good world, and why in actual markets the interest rate emerges from time, prices, and capital valuation—not raw productivity.

Equilibrium is an imaginary construct that should be used only for analytical purposes. Unfortunately, mainstream economists have claimed it should represent a desired state of economic affairs.

Mainstream economics is obsessed with “maximizing” so-called utility functions and discovering the ubiquitous “social utility curve.” In this week’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon takes apart this “utility” fixation.

We must realize that the two most powerful motivations in human history have always been ideology and economic interest, and that a joining of these two motivations can be downright irresistible.