Economics is a social science dealing with human choices and evaluations resulting from them. Every branch of our social world is a result of human action. That is why we always have to concentrate on acting individuals, who choose means to achieve their subjective ends. Ludwig von Mises called economics “a general theory of human action.” This
We’ve often heard that monetarists and Austrians agree that the government is to blame for the Great Depression. A deeper look shows that this is nothing but empty rhetoric. This short article does not deal with the details of Austrian Business Cycle Theory and its opposite monetarist interpretation of events after 1929. The purpose is far less
Almost everyone has something to say about the current crisis and the serious trouble our little greenback friend is in. We are about to be reminded that empires do not fall because of barbarians at the gates, wars of civilizations, or free trade. It’s the inflation that kills them. What is stunning about the current situation is the sudden
A few days ago, the Fed announced that it had “earned” a record-high amount of money in 2009. Then it turned $46 billion over to the Treasury. Here we are in the midst of a serious recession, with the unemployment rate high, the housing market still in a slump, and the stock market making only small steps toward recovery. In this climate, the Fed
[From Property, Freedom and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe .] I first met Professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe in 2003, when he visited Poland for a libertarian conference. Most of the participants were interested in normative issues and political philosophy, whereas very few were interested in Austrian economics. Hence, I was
Mateusz Machaj (mateusz.machaj@uwr.edu.pl) is research fellow at the Faculty of Social and Economic Studies, Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in Usti nad Labem; and assistant professor at the Institute of Economic Sciences, the University of Wroclaw. Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 21, no. 3 (Fall 2018) full issue, click here. My
The Problem of Production: A New Theory of the Firm Per Bylund London: Routledge, 2016, 194 pp. Mateusz Machaj (mateusz.machaj@uwr.edu.pl) is research fellow at the Faculty of Social and Economic Studies at Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in Usti nad Labem, Poland; and assistant professor at the Institute of Economic Sciences, University of
David Friedman maintains that the “Austrian Test” (the short edition that he took; here is the long version ) is not a good means to evaluate views on economics, particularly as it relates to the Chicago School . Actually it is, and any problems that arise from it are caused by the unclear and incomplete answers given by Chicago economists.
Mr. Kling is so disappointed in the Austrian Test that he has named the Austrian School a “sect”. His fundamental criticism is this: “I found it interesting that the ‘Are you an Austrian?’ quiz does not distinguish between knowledge of doctrine and belief in doctrine.” Now, the questions are not tricky; in fact, they are very simple and address
Mr. Roberts offers a very interesting definition of a “free trade”. In his opinion free trade rests on the condition of immobility of factors of production – if factors of production are free to move from one place to another, then this is no longer free trade . The argument is fallacious from the very beginning and is similar to economic concept
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.
