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30 sats \ 10 replies \ @Undisciplined 12 Dec \ parent \ on: What Modern Economists Can Learn from the Austrian School of Economics econ
One of the other pillars of Austrian economics is called "epistemological humility". That might be the critique that would resonate with you more.
On these two points (apriorism and individualism), my issue is largely that economists aren't generally aware of the significance. Basically, I don't think economists tend to actually understand the philosophical underpinnings of our discipline and don't generally care to do so.
Oh, yes, I think the entire world of academia could use a good dose of epistemological humility. And, I think they are getting it... look at how many people voted for Donald Trump and the utter embarrassment that Harvard has become.
I'm curious what the philosophical underpinnings of Austrianism are. I think I sort of understand the words apriorism and individualism, but maybe not the specific nuances as to how they influence Austrian theory.
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I recommend reading the first part of Human Action. It's my favorite part of the book and it's devoted to the philosophy of economics. The rest of the book is also great, but you may not have the spare time for a dense thousand page treatise.
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The beginning of Rothbard’s Man, Economy and State Power and Market at:
https://mises.org/library/book/man-economy-and-state-power-and-market
This is a good reference, but rather longish.
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Will do
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I have no sympathy for any of the academics that brought this situation on themselves. They took the route they thought best and are doing what they chose. Now, the accountability for the responsibilities they had is coming home to roost.
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I generally recommend starting by reading these book (they run from easy to more difficult:
Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson (1946)
Gene Callahan’s Economics for Real People: An Introduction to the Austrian School
Mises’ Human Action
Rothbard’s Man, Economy State with Power and Market
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SimpleStacker is an economist, so I'm pretty sure he can dive right into the deep end.
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OK, I wasn’t exactly sure. This is what I recommend to people that ask me in general. I am never sure how much economics they understand when they start out.
BTW, thanks for the heads up on his status as an economist.
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If you can, try to get the Scholars Edition. You can also get a PDF directly, for free from the Mises Institute at www.mises.org
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I think one of the reasons for this is that they do a lot of aggregation of households, businesses and government with no regard for the individuals involved. Once you start looking at collective you cannot see individuals. It is like only seeing the forest and not the trees.
BTW, I spent a beautiful part of the morning looking out at the trees and pondering them in the sub-zero temperatures! It was very relaxing and calming.
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