Modern American culture is statist to the core. The typical school curriculum tells students that capitalism is evil and socialism is good. This only gets worse in college.
Mainstream economists often base their analysis upon assumptions that do not square with reality. Austrian economics, on the other hand, is built upon realistic assumptions and the acknowledgement that good economics must reflect human action.
Even though DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) has taken a beating in some state legislatures, it still has a corrupting influence, especially in higher education. As Murray Rothbard pointed out, egalitarians are “at war with nature.”
The original Mont Pelerin Society meeting in 1947 featured Ludwig von Mises, whose warnings about the dangers of socialism and totalitarianism had gone unheeded. In the wreckage of World War II, the truth of his message should have been obvious. It wasn't.
While it is often framed in the media as a battle between principled conservatives and an angry, non-ideological movement focused solely on personal loyalty to Trump, the current civil war on the American right is only the latest chapter in a much older story.
Austrian economics today needs critics. It doesn‘t need the critics (like Paul Krugman) who cannot give valid and accurate criticisms, but rather people who actually understand the concepts upon which Austrian thinking is built provide a real challenge.
Totalitarianism is not compatible with a functioning economic system based upon free exchange and private property. Such regimes depend upon historicism and logical relativism.
The Economist's Simon Rabinovitch argues the U.S. economy has a set of structural advantages that have allowed it to perform remarkably well in the last couple of years compared to other developed countries. But could President-elect Donald Trump's second term in office put that edge at risk? Adrian Ma spoke with Rabinovitch for a recent episode of The Indicator. This episode is an extended cut of their conversation, previously released for Planet Money+ supporters.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.