Intro: though some said that Austrian Economics is a defense of economic liberalism -that is,a defense of immoral economics -I say contrarily.The below is my reply in the debate:
"AE (Austrian Economics) is just a science of action qua action. My remarks will have to be short and my tardy appearance in this debate will make them shorter still, so forgive me for the cryptic-ness.
Essentially, AE uses ethical-sounding terms, just as the chemist does. For the latter, “ideal gas” doesn’t mean “a supreme standard of human life that is gaseous in form” but it means “a powerful gas qua gas”. So “fair price” in AE means “a stable price qua price”. AE also defends liberalism but this is more historical accident than anything else. If an austrian economist ever said that free-trade was good, he either meant that free-trade was a stable condition qua trade, or he meant that free-trade was the best way to get wealth (all things equal), assuming people want wealth (even though it may conflict with justice). In no way does AE preach capitalism as a matter of necessity -as a matter of necessity it preaches nothing but analyzes everything.
So I think there are definitely some things to be learned from Mises/Rothbard -just as there were important things to be learned from Aristotle even though Plato was long-preferred to the former."
"AE (Austrian Economics) is just a science of action qua action. My remarks will have to be short and my tardy appearance in this debate will make them shorter still, so forgive me for the cryptic-ness.
Essentially, AE uses ethical-sounding terms, just as the chemist does. For the latter, “ideal gas” doesn’t mean “a supreme standard of human life that is gaseous in form” but it means “a powerful gas qua gas”. So “fair price” in AE means “a stable price qua price”. AE also defends liberalism but this is more historical accident than anything else. If an austrian economist ever said that free-trade was good, he either meant that free-trade was a stable condition qua trade, or he meant that free-trade was the best way to get wealth (all things equal), assuming people want wealth (even though it may conflict with justice). In no way does AE preach capitalism as a matter of necessity -as a matter of necessity it preaches nothing but analyzes everything.
So I think there are definitely some things to be learned from Mises/Rothbard -just as there were important things to be learned from Aristotle even though Plato was long-preferred to the former."
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