Philosophy and Methodology

The gym has Fox television on, and perhaps I should be grateful, because otherwise it would not have dawned on me just how popular and widely embraced stupid is.

Today's neocons genuinely believe that the key to durable peace is establishing democracies throughout the world. Two problems here: first, it will require lots of warring and, second, even if achieved it will fail because peace depends on governments abandoning unlimited interventionism. As Mises said, "The tragic error of President Wilson was that he ignored this essential point."

In a wide-ranging interview Sudha Shenoy comments on her decision to become an economist, the influence of Rothbard and Kirzner, the politics of Hayek, current trends in global trade, US protectionism, the bad turn in economic theorizing, and the need to resolve the conflict between Islam and the West.

The services provided by the paparazzi are subject to market discipline, writes Erich Mattei. So long as they provide publishers and consumers what they want, freelance celebrity photography will continue to be in demand and people will be drawn to this line of work. And yet, about about ethics? What about criminality?

Gary Galles draws attention to writings that heavily influenced 18th century American politics.

The Nobel prize was granted for an economist's work in "cointegration," a statistical and econometric technique that seeks to discover fixed relationships in historical data. But human beings are not machines, which is why Mises wrote: "As a method of economic analysis econometrics is a childish play with figures that does not contribute anything to the elucidation of the problems of economic reality."

Mises was quite clear on the dividing line between psychology and praxeology:  Psychology deals with theories to explain why people choose certain ends, or how people will act in certain settings.  Praxeology, on the other hand, deals with the logical implications of the fact that people have ends and the fact that they act to achieve them. Robert Murphy explains.

Michael Otsuka endeavors to combine two fundamental principles of political philosophy, usually considered polar opposites. In my view, his ingenious attempt does not succeed; but his failure has much to teach us.

Ludwig von Mises devoted much attention to methodology. Many people interested in Austrian economics turn from his discussions of the a priori and verstehen in bafflement and boredom. "Enough of these philosophical abstractions," they say; "what we want is economics".  No greater mistake can be imagined if one wishes to understand Mises's work.

On Labor Day, Americans honor the often incredible contributions of its working men and women.