Subjectivism

The Lou Church Memorial Lecture, sponsored by The Lou Church Foundation.

Modern portfolio theory, while popular with many economists, runs into serious problems when examined through the lens of Austrian economics

Demonstrated preference has everything to do with the choices an economic actor faces in a given moment, not all the conceivable options.

Menger discovered much more than the principle of marginal utility—he created an entire system of economics based on subjective value and individual choice.

Human beings do not have constant value scales, but change their goals constantly as the world around them changes. This habit of changing goals does not make a consumer "irrational."

When the subjective theory was formulated in the 1870s, it suffered from the defect of wrongly thinking that economic calculation could occur without prices. This defect gave socialists help in making their case.

Before economic theory got started, philosophers studied political and economic affairs from a normative standpoint. The advent of subjectivism showed that there are regularities across all human action that limit what political action can achieve.

The assertion that “tax-financed public goods can make us all better off” is just that: an assertion. As Rothbard showed, there is no reason to just assume consumers would pay for these amenities were they not forced to through taxation. 

The assertion that “tax-financed public goods can make us all better off” is just that: an assertion. As Rothbard showed, there is no reason to just assume consumers would pay for these amenities were they not forced to through taxation.