John O’Donnell: Austrian Economics Applied

Tags: Booms and Busts, Financial Markets, U.S. Economy

02/20/2015 Jeff Deist John O'Donnell, III

People accuse Austrian economics of being overly theoretical—but our guest John O’Donnell proves them wrong. He’s applied Austrian economics consistently over his long career both as a successful investment banker and the CEO of several public companies.

John met Murray Rothbard in the 1970s, and everything changed. He became a thorough Rothbardian and a dedicated libertarian—not to mention a close friend of hard money stalwarts like Doug Casey and Harry Browne.

You’ll enjoy hearing his memories of how Murray owned a room, how Murray’s incredible sense of humor was matched by his sheer endurance for late nights, how measuring investment returns in fiat currency is nonsensical, and how Wharton, Harvard, and the London School of Economics produce so many clueless Keynesian MBAs.

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Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

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