Austrian economics has nothing to do with the economics of Austria. Austrian Economics (AE) began with Carl Menger in 1871. It is based on an analysis of individual action, not aggregates or groups.
Economics 101
A collection of ten speeches and lectures by Murray N. Rothbard, spanning from the 1970s to the early 1990s. He is speaking in a small classroom setting, explaining economics from the ground up, and systematically in the manner of a classic 101 course on the topic—but with a revolutionary approach.
Download the complete audio of this collection (ZIP) here.
Many believe that if governments would just issue greater quantities of money then all problems would be solved. In truth that would create unsurmountable problems by lowering the purchasing power of each money unit. Money is the one good that is not made better by increasing its supply.
Profit is total revenue minus total costs. Ours is not just a profit system, it is a profit and loss system. Losses are a sign that you wasted land, labor, or capital, yet those who make profits are criticized.
Minimum wage laws force unemployment up. All of those with few skills looking for an entry position will be denied because they cannot add enough value to the business labor field to be paid minimum wage. Unemployment follows minimum wage hikes. Marginal workers are being denied the labor market.
Rothbard covers the principles of demand and supply curves. Prices are at the seat of the whole system. Use the logic of reality. The most mobile labor force is teenagers. Over time, capital equipment per laborer increases. Real wage rates increase. Consumer prices decrease.
Free markets shift resources from where they are less valued to where they are most valued, benefiting consumers. When private property and free markets are allowed to operate, a natural conservation of resources occurs. Nothing is a resource unless it is useful to man.
One of the most difficult things to understand about banking is how money is created out of thin air. Current commercial bank liabilities are immediate. The banks do not have the reserves to redeem all demand notes. Thus, banks are inherently insolvent. But, government has eliminated runs on banks...
Microeconomics starts with the basic fact that each person has short term and long term goals, like buying a ham sandwich and graduating from college. People act in the world to accomplish something. Human action is purposive. You employ different means to achieve certain goals.
Murray Rothbard presented this speech in 1990 as the final lecture of the Mises University, in the days following the collapse of socialism.
