Is anyone going to sign up for Murphy’s course in the Mises academy?
Yes. Already paid…
Thinking about it. You?
When does it start?
Same. I will be at work on some of the days they do the lectures [ if it is Monday-Friday ] so I am trying to see if I should do it now or wait until the next class.
April 12th.
I think I will.
I’d love to, unfortunately, I don’t have the money for it this time around. Aiming for one of the next classes at this point.
Can someone illuminate me on what exactly you could get out of this that you can’t get out of reading Mises/Rothbard? Is it easier this way and/or faster? More in-depth/developed?
I’ve found it’s always easier to learn something if you have some kind of arbiter between the original and yourself. Robert Murphy is more than a competent teacher.
"And it’s all coming together in a matter of days, with the inaugural class of the Mises Academy: Understanding the Business Cycle with Dr. Robert P. Murphy. Given the times we are living in, this is obviously the time to learn about the business cycle. I’d like to share with you why Dr. Murphy is the man to learn it from.
The course explains one of the highest accomplishments of the Austrian tradition, but in the course of doing so, it also teaches the fundamentals of Austrian Economics which undergird the Business Cycle Theory. And Dr. Murphy is just the person to learn fundamentals from. He has such a clear way of explaining the basics, that he was the Mises Institute’s go-to guy for writing the study guides to both of the core texts of Austrian Economics: Mises’ Human Action and Rothbard’s Man, Economy, and State.
However, what is perhaps the most important theoretical underpinning of Austrian Business Cycle Theory is capital theory. Business Cycle Theory is the apogee of Austrian macroeconomics, and as economist Roger Garrison has said, Austrian macroeconomics is synonymous with “capital-based macroeconomics”. And it just so happens that Dr. Murphy is also the Mises Institute’s go-to guy for the annual capital theory lectures at Mises U!
Okay, you might say, I’m sure his capital lectures will be clear, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to enjoy them. And you would be quite incorrect in that, because, honestly, I think Dr. Murphy is one of the most entertaining lecturers I’ve ever seen. He has a sharp wit, and a marvelously self-deprecating sense of humor.
And finally, Dr. Murphy has heeded the Misesian Injunction more than just about any other economist. He is an extremely dedicated “economist-at-large”. Readers of his blog marvel at his productivity. If he’s not refuting Paul Krugman for the public good, he’s speaking at a Mises Circle, or debating a Fed economist, or penning a “Politically Incorrect Guide”, or developing an economics curriculum for high school students. Just take a look at his Mises Daily archive to get a sample of how devoted he is to explaining economics to the interested layman.
This is the time, this is the topic, this is the teacher, and this is the tradition. Please be part of it and help us shape our future courses by signing up for the inaugural Mises Academy course: Understanding the Business Cycle with Dr. Robert P. Murphy. Perhaps some day people will look back to this first Mises Academy course the way we look back at the first Mises Circle: with respect and gratitude."