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[This Study Guide to Human Action , Chapter VII is also available in PDF .] Chapter VII. Action Within the World Chapter Summary 1. The Law of Marginal Utility Acting man must place all ends onto a single scale of values. If he is to choose between (say) acquiring a steak or attending the opera, he must decide which outcome yields the most

Earlier this year three Americans won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for laying the foundations of “mechanism design theory.” The work of Leonid Hurwicz, Roger Myerson, and Eric Maskin was noted for its help in implementing efficient voting, trading, and regulatory schemes. The official press release made it quite clear that although the

[This Study Guide to Human Action , Chapter VIII is also available in PDF .] CHAPTER VIII. HUMAN SOCIETY Chapter Summary 1. Human Cooperation Society is the combination of individuals for cooperative effort. People collaborate — form social bonds — because they perceive the greater productivity afforded by the division of labor. This doesn’t mean

Although most commentators concede that the free market does a decent job providing regular goods and services day in and day out, for some reason they believe that when it comes to unlikely but catastrophic events, government intervention is necessary. An excellent example of this misguided mindset is the recent argument over what to do with the

[This Study Guide to Human Action , Chapter XVII is also available in PDF .] CHAPTER XVII. INDIRECT EXCHANGE Chapter Summary 1. Media of Exchange and Money In direct exchange, each party intends to use the object being acquired for consumption or production. In contrast, during indirect exchange, at least one of the parties to the transaction does

David Frum is on the warpath. In a National Review Online blog post , then an NPR commentary , and most recently in a National Post article , Frum has mercilessly ridiculed the gold standard. But as with most modern critiques of the “bad old days” of the laissez-faire 19th century, Frum’s analysis is fraught with theoretical and historical

[This Study Guide to Human Action , Chapter XVIII is also available in PDF .] CHAPTER XVIII. ACTION IN THE PASSING OF TIME Chapter Summary 1. Perspective in the Valuation of Time Periods All action is directed toward an imagined improvement in future conditions, although some actions are intended to improve the very near future. People do not

[This Study Guide to Human Action , Chapter XIX is also available in PDF .] CHAPTER XIX. THE RATE OF INTEREST CHAPTER SUMMARY 1. The Phenomenon of Interest Originary interest is the discount applied to future goods versus present goods, and is ultimately due to the universal phenomenon of time preference. As chapter XVIII demonstrated, people

[This Study Guide to Human Action , Chapter XX is also available in PDF .] CHAPTER XX. INTEREST, CREDIT EXPANSION, AND THE TRADE CYCLE CHAPTER SUMMARY 1. The Problems The neutral rate of interest is the hypothetical, single rate of originary interest — i.e., the rate of markup on consumer goods compared to their factors of production — that would

David Frum — former Bush speechwriter, ambitious author , American Public Radio commentator, and all-around guru — has been lecturing Ron Paul supporters about the gold standard. After three such lectures (a National Review Online blog post , an NPR commentary , and finally a National Post article ) I decided to throw my hat in the ring and defend