Essay:Unpopularity of Austrian economics
From Mises Wiki, the global repository of classical-liberal thought
The unpopularity of Austrian economics is largely due to its challenging the conceit of those in power.[1] DiLorenzo’s Fourth Law of Government states that politicians will only take the advice of their legions of academic advisors if the advice promises to increase the state’s power, wealth, and influence even if the politicians know that the advice is bad for the rest of society.[2]
References
- ↑ Mises, Ludwig von. "The Procedure of Economics". Human Action. http://mises.org/humanaction/chap2sec10.asp. "Despots and democratic majorities are drunk with power. They must reluctantly admit that they are subject to the laws of nature. But they reject the very notion of economic law. Are they not the supreme legislators? Don't they have the power to crush every opponent? No war lord is prone to acknowledge any limits other than those imposed on him by a superior armed force. Servile scribblers are always ready to foster such complacency by expounding the appropriate doctrines. They call their garbled presumptions "historical economics." In fact, economic history is a long record of government policies that failed because they were designed with a bold disregard for the laws of economics.
It is impossible to understand the history of economic thought if one does not pay attention to the fact that economics as such is a challenge to the conceit of those in power. An economist can never be a favorite of autocrats and demagogues. With them he is always the mischief-maker, and the more they are inwardly convinced that his objections are well founded, the more they hate him." - ↑ DiLorenzo, Thomas J.. "Who Will Regulate the Regulators?". Organized Crime. pp. 10. http://library.mises.org/books/Thomas%20J%20DiLorenzo/Organized%20Crime%20The%20Unvarnished%20Truth%20About%20Government_Vol_3.pdf.
