In this press conference on video, Bernanke is asked about the Austrian theory of Mises, Hayek, and Rothbard, namely that the crisis itself is caused by FEd and by the same means that the Fed is using to supposedly cure the crisis.
Bernanke is a bit long-winded but claims to understand the Austrian perspective of all of this.
I would suggest that he understands it most likely. The problem is his time horizon. He is concerned about the short run regardless of the long run. As he puts it, he wants to put out the fire rather than worrying about the fire code. But what if there is a worse fire later because of the means used to put out the first fire? That’s the critical issue.
Thanks Robert Murphy and LRC.