Philosophy and Methodology

The Ralph Raico Memorial Lecture, sponsored by Murray and Florence Sabrin.

In commemoration of Murray Rothbard’s 100th birthday, Bob shares five “greatest hits” from Rothbard’s economics, covering deficits vs. inflation, monopoly theory, excess capacity, the time structure of production, and his reconstruction of utility and welfare economics.

For more than a century, economists have tried to reduce economics to a series of mathematical equations and statistical analysis. They have failed miserably, but that doesn’t stop them from continuing down the same mistaken path.

The revival of Austrian economics had roots in the Circle Bastiat group that met in New York City in the 1950s, among them Murray Rothbard and Ralph Raico.

In this week’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon honors the centennial of Murray Rothbard’s birth, recalling his memories of conversations and discussions with the man who was knowledgeable on a wide range of topics—and was never a boring companion.

Understanding economics is the key to preserving civilization. This is because civilization itself is a consequence of choices.

Austrian economists insist one cannot use the methodology of the physical sciences to explain economic phenomena. In this week’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon examines Peter Winch, who criticized using methodology of the physical sciences to explain social sciences.

The middle of the road reveals itself not as balance, but as a gentle slope toward the rationalized management of social life.

Today, the term "Austrian economics" is used to designate two very different paradigms.

One of the Austrian arguments against using mathematics to model economic phenomena is that there are no constants in economics, as things always are changing.