In an essay that made his <a href="http://store.mises.org/Austrian-Perspective-on-the-History-of-Economic-Thought-2-volume-set-P273C0.aspx">masterpiece on the history of thought</a> famous, Murray Rothbard argues that Adam Smith should not be called the founder of economics, nor a theorist who improved on economic science, nor even a consistent defender of the market economy.
Throughout human history there have been those who deny free will and personal responsibility, instead blaming their wrong-doings on interventions divine and planetary.
In a dark hour of Mises's life, there was a glimmer of light: an invitation from New York University to speak about the contributions he had made to economic thought. The address was given in 1940, nine years before Human Action appeared on the scene.
Praxeology rests on the fundamental axiom that individual human beings act, that is, on the primordial fact that individuals engage in conscious actions toward chosen goals.
In the sciences of human action, it is impossible to test conclusions. The “facts” of human history are complex ones, resultants of many causes. These causes can only be isolated by theory, theory that is necessarily a priori to these historical facts.
What does it mean to say that a person is entitled to own what he has produced? Israel Kirzner answers the question by way of explaining the function of entrepreneurship.
The latest exploits of Lance Armstrong in this year's Tour de France, writes Jim Fedako, provide a solid backdrop for discussions contrasting the economic ideas of the Austrian School and the adherents of Public Choice.
Recorded at Mises University 2004.
