Olsson J.M. Austrian Economics as Political Philosophy

Stockholm: Stockholm University, 2015. — 208 p. — ISBN: 978-91-7649-062-4 — (Stockholm Studies in Politics 161)The Austrian school of economics is an unorthodox approach to economics whose adherents have mostly been libertarian in their political outlook. This dissertation explores the connections between Austrian economic theory and libertarian political philosophy, and casts doubt on the claim often propounded that Austrian economics itself naturally leads to libertarianism. Instead it is claimed here that Austrian economics is an open-ended theory that can lead to very different political conclusions, depending on the normative principles with which it is combined. Therefore it is crucial to analyze both the economic theory and the ethics of any political thinker of the Austrian school, and the bulk of the analysis must lean on the latter since the economic theory itself does not lead to the types of libertarianism that is put forward by the most famous economists and philosophers of the Austrian school. The ethical theories of four Austrian school proponents are analyzed in this dissertation: Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard and Hans-Hermann Hoppe. The conclusion is that there are several problems with their theories, although the problems are of different kinds, ranging from metaethics to empirical application and operationalization.Aims of the Study
Some Words on Method
The Metaethical Dimension
Earlier Research
Sources
DispositionEconomicsA Brief History of Economic ThoughtMercantilism and Its Critics
Quesnay and Smith
Malthus, Ricardo, Mill
Marx and the German Historical School
The Marginal Revolution and Neoclassical Economics
The Keynesian Revolution and Monetarism
An Austrian view of the History of Economics
The Austrian School of Economics – Early Days
Mises, Hayek, and the Socialist Calculation Debate
The Austrian School after World War IIEconomics and Normative ImplicationsAustrian Economics and Normative ThinkingPraxeology and the Nature of Economics
Analyzing the Economy
Praxeology and Normative Political Theory
The Economics of Hayek
Some Conclusions and RemarksEthicsThe “Utilitarianism” of Ludwig von MisesThe Foundations of Mises’s Normative Theory
Determining Which Policies Maximize Preference Satisfaction
Mises’s Assumptions About Actual Preferences
Mises’s Critique of Interventionism and the Relevance of His Liberalism
Final RemarksThe Anarchists: Murray Rothbard and Hans-Hermann HoppeRothbard
Hoppe
(Meta)Ethical Conclusions
The Rejection of DemocracyWhat’s so Great About the Great Society? – The Political Philosophy of F. A. HayekAn Overview
Normative Principles
Turning to the Secondary Literature
The Maximum Population Theory Examined
The Maximum Freedom Theory Examined
Hayek on Democracy
Final RemarksConclusionsSvensk sammanfattning