[ An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought (1995)] A particularly outstanding feature of J.B. Say’s treatise is that he was the first economist to think deeply about the proper methodology of his discipline, and to base his work, as far as he could, upon that methodology. From previous economists and from his own study, he
[Day 13 of Robert Wenzel’s 30-day reading list that will lead you to become a knowledgeable libertarian, this article is excerpted from The Logic of Action One: Method, Money, and the Austrian School (Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 1997), pp. 58–77. It appeared on LewRockwell.com Praxeology is the distinctive methodology of the Austrian School. The
[This article is chapter 4 from Economic Controversies (2011). It originally appeared in The Foundations of Modern Austrian Economics (1976).] Praxeology is the distinctive methodology of the Austrian School. The term was first applied to the Austrian method by Ludwig von Mises, who was not only the major architect and elaborator of this
[ Man, Economy, and State, with Power and Market ] The analysis in chapter 1 was based on the logical implications of the assumption of action, and its results hold true for all human action. The application of these principles was confined, however, to “Crusoe economics,” where the actions of isolated individuals are considered by themselves.
[Excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought, vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An MP3 audio file of this article, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available for download .] Weighing in on the side of John Locke, not only on interest rates but also in a general and comprehensive vision of economic laissez-faire
The stimulating methodological controversy between Professors Machlup and Hutchison proves that there are sometimes more than two sides to every question. In many ways, the two are debating at cross-purposes: Professor Hutchison is primarily tilting against the methodological (and political) views of Professor Ludwig von Mises; his most serious
That Ludwig von Mises was the outstanding champion of laizes-faire and the free-market economy in this century is well know and needs no documentation. But in the course of refining and codifying his political views, Mises’ followers have unwitting distorted them and made them seed at one with the modern conservative movement in the United States.
Praxeology rests on the fundamental axiom that individual human beings act, that is, on the primordial fact that individuals engage in conscious actions toward chosen goals. This concept of action contrasts to purely reflexive, or knee-jerk, behavior, which is not directed toward goals. The praxeological method spins out by verbal deduction the
Ethics is the discipline, or what is called in classical philosophy the “science,” of what goals men should or should not pursue. All men have values and place positive or negative value judgments on goods, people, and events. Ethics is the discipline that provides standards for a moral critique of these value judgments. In the final analysis,
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.