Austrian Economics Must Be Slighted

Austrian Economics continues to gain in influence despite the ruling elite’s attempts to marginalize it. The latest example was the Wall Street Journal’s recent coverage of Peter Boettke.

The Daily Bell deals with the WSJ article in Mises Shakes the World?

The consensus seems to be that editors at the Journal conspired to leave out the “harder” and more uncompromising Misesian school. Meanwhile feedback conversations with such estimable GMU commentators as David Horowitz reveal that the author of the WSJ article had set out to write a profile of Austrian academics. The confusion is then seemingly the Journal’s fault as nowhere in the lead of the article does the Journal make clear what the article is about. Thus, the entire article becomes confusing. It leaves out Mises with a seeming arbitrariness.

The Daily Bell deals with more than just the Journal piece. Specifically, it discusses why key individuals of the school are rarely addressed and the amazing comeback that Austrian Economics has enjoyed.

Ludwig von Mises was a giant. No proper discussion of the Austrian school can ignore him or his contributions. No proper discussion of economics should ignore him. Mises was Friedrich von Hayek’s mentor. Mises was responsible for Hayek abandoning his youthful Marxist tendencies.

Murray Rothbard was another Austrian of note ignored by the Journal. He was a student of Mises and a most prolific writer on economics and a range of other interests. He was brilliant, a bit eccentric and “hard-core.” He took libertarianism to its extreme — anarchy, a world without government.

While Hayek was brilliant and deserving of his Nobel Prize (so cheapened by others that have received one), his economics was more malleable than that of either Mises or Rothbard. He allowed for a greater role for government than many other Austrians. As such, if non-Austrians have  to deal with this school of economics, Hayek is more amenable as an opponent than trying to refute the more definitive positions of a Mises or a Rothbard.

For those interested in Austrian Economics, the Daily Bell provides a good read, including why Austrianism is such a threat to the Statist establishment:

Lew Rockwell and his colleagues have done what few others in the history of the world have accomplished. They have led a modern thought revolution that has stabbed a vital empire. If Leviathan groans and gropes in response, it is no trivial matter. What began in a room now shakes the world.

Despite the best efforts of the statist-controlled media to ignore facts and theories they don’t like, the Internet has proven an effective alternative for news of all kinds. The Mises Institute has one of the best sites on the Web, filled with original content made available on line for free. It is truly a Statist’s nightmare.

As a final comment, the economics that had to be buried because it could not be refuted was effectively Austrian Economics. Prior to Keynes, there was just classical economics. Most of that was based on Austrian principles. See Keynes as “Useful Idiot” for more information on how Keynesianism displaced good economics.

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