Per L. Bylund
How to Think about the Economy: A Primer
Mises Institute, 2022.

“It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.” —Murray N. Rothbard.

In last week’s column, I criticized Jedediah Purdy for the ignorance of economic theory on display in his Two Cheers for Politics. Fortunately, the book contains much of interest, reflecting the author’s wide knowledge of the history of political philosophy. I have to say, though, that the main argument of the book strikes me as utterly unconvincing.

Purdy starts off well. He asks, Why are people living today bound by past political arrangements to which they have not consented? He says that

A new monetary age is coming and sooner than anyone thinks. Since 1971 the world’s monetary system has been unanchored by anything of intrinsic value. In the fall of that year, President Nixon took the US off what remained of the gold standard, called the gold exchange standard, in which foreign central banks could redeem dollars for America’s gold reserves at $35 per ounce.

Demand for goods arises because of perceived benefits. For instance, individuals demand food because it nourishes them. This is not so, however, about pieces of paper we call money, so why do we accept them?

When people start freezing to death in Europe this winter, who will be blamed? Regulations, Russia, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? They all will be, but no one with a recognizable face or name will pay any price.

Last night Joe Biden was propped up behind the presidential seal in front of historic Independence Hall and gave the most provocative and divisive speech in modern American history. With the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence cloaked in an ominous blood red, Biden sputtered his way through an attack on “insurrectionists” he labeled as threatening American democracy, political norms, and the rule of law.

Per Bylund’s new book How to Think about the Economy: A Primer is now available online, in the Mises Store, and at Amazon. It’s an excellent beginning text for anyone looking to gain a better grasp of sound economics and to better understand what makes the Austrian school method different (and better).