For once a publisher's blurb does not exaggerate. The Economics of Time and Ignorance has indeed been "one of the seminal works in modern Austrian economics" and the book's welcome reissue, with a new introduction, offers an opportunity for its examination here.
A familiar Austrian criticism of mainstream neoclassical economics is that it lacks touch with reality.
This book gets off to a bad start. The editor, David L. Prychitko, ardently supports a particular sort of interpretation theory, hermeneutics, particularly as developed by Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur.
As any reader in the tradition will know, Austrian economics has deep links to philosophy.
Raimondo Cubeddu approaches Austrian economics from an interesting angle. He asks: what implications does it have for political theory?
The hottest new topic in mathematics, physics, and allied sciences is "chaos theory." It is radical in its implications, but no one can accuse its practitioners of being anti- mathematical, since its highly complex math, including advanced computer graphics, is on the cutting edge of mathematical theory.
Mises explains why socialism always fails due to the absence of a free market pricing structure for capital goods.
The monetary problem – the market problem – is the medium of exchange. The illusion is that one would be better off if only one had more money. Everybody should have more money. Therefore, make more money. This creates the system of inflation.
Human beings are collaborators with each other. Socialism is one kind of cooperation of people. One thing determines the socialist organization. It is the lack of freedom and the complete obedience to a Fuehrer (leader). Not surprisingly, everyone considers themselves to be part of the ruling group, forcing others to submit.
