Anyway I found this while looking for another article. I’m not fond of a priori anything, and I have criticized Mises and Rothbard for just that, but this ‘Awful Austrians’ critique seems a bit wrongheaded or even deceptive. When Mises speaks of rational or selfish he means it in a very limited sense, and it’s simply that humans act and thus made choices. This isn’t a farfetched claim. Without a disclaimer to the reader to the effect that ‘rational’ does not imply ‘intelligent’, ‘wise’, ‘prudent’ nor any such thing you have led people to the wrong conclusion, and imo the wrong critique of Austrians.
Essentially Mises et al, derive their school from what they consider an a priori claim. Humans act. Yet I don’t think WE need to take that assumption as a priori, and attacking an assumption on the basis of the understanding of the assumee is itself dangerous to reason. Christianity comes to valid many moral conclusions based on profoundly worse farfecthing.
You may find logical or empirical inconsistencies with Austrian economics, or you may find fault with it’s premise, that Humans act, but the latter ONLY IF you have reason to suspect the presumption is false. Personally I don’t think the presumption provides an easy task of falsification;)
People have many wrong assumptions. But as well people assume a lot is true, CORRECTLY, without understanding why it’s true, and certainly not being able to articulate why it’s true. But the validity of an assertion doesn’t derive from the ability of the person asserting it to explain it’s validity.
Einstein proceeded from an assumption about the universe which was not provable at the time and he could not prove, and was not EXACTLY correct, but he was able to advance physics immensely and was on large correct. Similarly Mises/Rothbards predictions are eventuating as we speak. The form of your critique could as easily be applied to Einstein as Mises.
Conclusion, critique fails. Disprove the premise, always the easiest of tasks if possible at all, or show that the conclusions do not follow from it.
“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.”—JS Mill
Yes deflation is normal.
Anyway I found this while looking for another article. I’m not fond of a priori anything, and I have criticized Mises and Rothbard for just that, but this ‘Awful Austrians’ critique seems a bit wrongheaded or even deceptive. When Mises speaks of rational or selfish he means it in a very limited sense, and it’s simply that humans act and thus made choices. This isn’t a farfetched claim. Without a disclaimer to the reader to the effect that ‘rational’ does not imply ‘intelligent’, ‘wise’, ‘prudent’ nor any such thing you have led people to the wrong conclusion, and imo the wrong critique of Austrians.
Essentially Mises et al, derive their school from what they consider an a priori claim. Humans act. Yet I don’t think WE need to take that assumption as a priori, and attacking an assumption on the basis of the understanding of the assumee is itself dangerous to reason. Christianity comes to valid many moral conclusions based on profoundly worse farfecthing.
You may find logical or empirical inconsistencies with Austrian economics, or you may find fault with it’s premise, that Humans act, but the latter ONLY IF you have reason to suspect the presumption is false. Personally I don’t think the presumption provides an easy task of falsification;)
People have many wrong assumptions. But as well people assume a lot is true, CORRECTLY, without understanding why it’s true, and certainly not being able to articulate why it’s true. But the validity of an assertion doesn’t derive from the ability of the person asserting it to explain it’s validity.
Einstein proceeded from an assumption about the universe which was not provable at the time and he could not prove, and was not EXACTLY correct, but he was able to advance physics immensely and was on large correct. Similarly Mises/Rothbards predictions are eventuating as we speak. The form of your critique could as easily be applied to Einstein as Mises.
Conclusion, critique fails. Disprove the premise, always the easiest of tasks if possible at all, or show that the conclusions do not follow from it.
“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.”—JS Mill