Do you think Austrian Econmics is:
- Mainly Right
- Somewhat Right
- Don’t know
- Somewhat Wrong
- Mainly Wrong
0 voters
What is your opinion of Austrian Economics?
Hitler.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH i cant read all this Economics stuff all over again NO NO! 
Austrian economics is an alternative school to standard economics- you know, like creation science is an alternative to evolution, geocentrism is an alternative to the idea that the Earth goes around the sun, and homeopathy and aromatherapy are alternatives to modern medicine.
…so it’s bullshit basically?
Most Conservative backed and Libertarian backed economic systems will work. You just have to accept high poverty rates. You have to believe in Social Darwinism that says the fit shall survive, and those that aren’t, are inferior and shall perish.
The Austrian school of economics has made meaningful contributions to modern economic theory, such as the concept of opportunity cost (i.e., measuring the cost of an economic activity by the next best alternative), but the Austrians aren’t really taken seriously because they reject the use of statistical models and other econometric tools. In fact they essentially rejected the whole idea of macroeconomics, and focused most of their attention not on formulating a comprehensive economic theory (which they rejected to begin with), but on criticizing early socialist thinkers like Max Weber. But they also had something in common with socialists, in that they adamantly opposed central banks and fractional reserve banking. It’s hard to say that Austrian economics really exists as a tangible philosophy. It had a few ideas which were accepted, others that weren’t, and it’s criticisms are mostly outdated. There is a small percentage of present-day economists who describe themselves as “Austrians”, but they aren’t taken seriously because they reject the use of mathematical models.
Before making a call on “right or wrong”, it might be useful to note that there are three main waves of Austrian economics:
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Late-19th and early-20th century Vienna: a quite interesting intellectual genesis.
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20th century: the Austrian school’s influence was pretty boring except for American economist Murray Rothbard, who really instilled the ideas of the school into US economic thinking in a substantive - if somewhat heterodox - way.
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21st century: For the most part, political rhetoric from libertarians, gold bugs, and anarchocapitalists in the USA.
Did I miss something? 
Oh darn! I’ve pissed off all the heterodox economics thinkers. They don’t want to talk to me any more. Sigh! 
As Shiadoa said earlier, my first reaction was Not Again!
What about Australian economics?
That’s little more than try to get lucky when choosing who you are born to.
If I could print money like it grows on trees and extract money from my neighbors at gunpoint without having to worry about the repercussions I’d be a “Keynesian economist”. I can’t though so I’m forced to live within my means by being an “Austrian economist.” My bad luck.
Gunpoint?
Well here’s the whole Keynesian versus Austrian thing boiled down to something you might find more managable. Though you should probably google “F. A. Hayek” first…
youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk
youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc
For those more ambitious than to settle for a four year certificate of ignorance…
Read Hayek in my brief anarcho-capitalist phase in my 20s, though I was more influenced by Nozick.
Speaking of Freddy A., how is the Road to Serfdom? Are we there yet?
“If a man is not a socialist at 20, he has no heart; if he’s still a socialist at 40 he has no head.”
Seems to me you can turn that old saw around.
“If a man is not a libertarian at 20 he has no head; if he’s still a libertarian at 40 he has no heart.”
Gunpoint?[/quote]
“Taxation is theft”
And of course no good Austrian would ever take out a mortgage, business loan, or student loan, or use a credit card- you must always, at all times, every minute of your life, live within your means.
[quote=“Gman”]Well here’s the whole Keynesian versus Austrian thing boiled down to something you might find more managable. Though you should probably google “F. A. Hayek” first…
youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk
youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc[/quote]
Oh, is that how you see the economic debate? Very amusing. 
But it is very short on specifics.
Gunpoint?[/quote]
“Taxation is theft”
And of course no good Austrian would ever take out a mortgage, business loan, or student loan, or use a credit card- you must always, at all times, every minute of your life, live within your means.[/quote]
I have zero debt, pay off my credit card charges in full every month, have $$$ in the bank and own my home free and clear after paying off my mortgage in five years. In short, in Keynesian terms I’m a complete loser.