Prior to Mises there had been nothing written on the theory of monopoly price. Mises felt there could be some limited times of monopoly on the free market, e.g. diamond mines, but Rothbard felt that there could not be monopolies. Both theories developed out of Menger’s original thoughts.
Where the classical economists had gone wrong was to speak of goods as if they were abstract classes. The Austrians noted that their value theory did not talk about concrete units and could not explain how individuals valued goods.
There were reasons for the decline of the Austrian School before its revival and rebirth by Mises and Rothbard. There was an Israel Kirzner view in the 1970s that the Keynesian avalanche had buried Austrian economics in 1936. Then there is a big bang theory of its rebirth in 1974 due to the South Royalton meeting and Hayek receiving the Nobel Prize.
Presented as part of the Mises Institute’s Brown Bag Seminar series on April 28, 2005 in Auburn, Alabama.
What inspires us about the life of Mises, writes Lew Rockwell, is not his victimhood but his triumph over evil.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Ayn Rand's birth. Her books sold in the millions and were most effective in transforming a generation of readers into ardent anti-communists and strong capitalists.
Lew Rockwell visits Justin Raimondo's great biography of the master thinker.
Recorded at the 2005 Austrian Scholars Conference, Mises Institute, Auburn, Alabama.
Was George Stigler sympathetic to the Austrian school? Lachmann doesn’t think so because Stigler was a favorite student of Knight. Austrians should have dealt with Keynes, instead they quarreled with Knight.
What policies do Austrians pursue? Those that favor the market.
