What if Austrian economists were wrong?

[richie2044]

You could not be more correct. While completing my undergrad in econ, I remember thinking that the IS/LM was the greatest thing ever. Then I stumbled upon this site by accident while doing my undergrad (five years ago) and I was astounded at how much I learned about economics without wasting time in a classroom.

[nhaag]

@eliotn

@Jon Irenicus

Then read! You need to read and learn to think for yourself.

But I am reading! And I am learning to think for myself (yes, I am realizing it is hard)! I just want to learn what others have learned. I need human assistance, because I need to know what past people have learned.

It is not too important what past people have learned, but rather what past people have taught

When I stumbled across mises.org some years ago, I even didn’t have an idea about the very basics of neither austrian economy nor of the implications of a philosophy of freedom and individualism. I had a fundamental believe though that a man is an independent entity (in terms on what action he chooses) and that at some point or another, all those collectivst philosophies failed to adress this with a rock solid argument (an axiom).

So I started reading and measured what I read by my principle. And guess what, what I learned here was just beautiful, as Walter Block once said. It just fits and you do not need someone else to tell you what to study. Take your own measures and apply them to what your read. And than try to question your old beliefs and look if they hold under the new ideas you uncovered by reading. Actually that is based on the old tale of a rabbi that was asked how he could become so wise and tolerant at the same time (so it couldn’t have been Schammai) and he answered, “Whenever i feel that I mastered a body of knowledge, I turn around and start to study the oposite view”.

Bottom line, learn and study by yourself, make yourself the judge about the validity of the arguments of others and stay away from experts that sneer at your findings, because theirs are usually weak.

You came to the right place to start. Here at mises org you find almost everything, for sure everything you need for your first 100 years of studies :-).

Have a great time

[Fephisto]

@Ned Netterville

There is economics, which is Austrian, which provides insight into human action, and then there are non-Austrians masquerading as economists who resort to…mathematics

I think the fact that Austrian Economics is based off a set of reasonable axioms and then uses classical logic makes it far more mathematical than any other economic school out there.