Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics

Praxeology of Coercion: Catallactics vs. Cratics

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Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 18, no. 3 (Fall 2015)

ABSTRACT: Ludwig von Mises’s most important legacy is the foundation and analysis of catallactics, i.e., the economics of interpersonal exchange, as a sub-discipline of praxeology, the science of human action. In this paper, based both on Mises’s methodical framework and on insights by Tadeusz Kotarbinski and Max Weber, a “praxeology of coercion,” or, more precisely, an analysis of interpersonal actions involving threats, is developed. Our investigation yields both a reviewed taxonomy of human action and a first analysis of the elements of this theory, which we term cratics. This shall establish the basis for adjacent studies, furthering Mises’s project regarding the science of human action.

KEYWORDS: Austrian school, praxeology, catallactics, coercion
JEL CLASSIFICATION: B53

CITE THIS ARTICLE

Taghizadegan, Rahim, and Marc-Felix Otto, “Praxeology of Coercion: Catallactics vs. Cratics,” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 18, no. 3 (Fall 2015): 249–310.

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