The Austrian School’s Influence
Anyone who thinks the Austrians are not
influential really needs to do his homework on the subject. Penrose, Lawson, and
Lewin have all been influential in their fields and were heavily influenced by
Austrian ideas. Tullock and Buchanan
have both said that Hayek greatly influenced them. Even some Marxists have
become Austrians, such as Burczak. Just because a school's influence is diffuse
doesn't make it inconsequential.
More importantly,
there have been attempts by other heterodox movements to reach out to the
Austrians. For example, Tony Lawson has made the case that the philosophy of
Critical Realism is to some extent compatible with Austrian teachings. He uses
Hayek as an example of a proto-Critical Realist. In itself, this shows that our
school of thought has influence in the general sphere of heterodox economics.
Although it's true that Hayek's influence has been more widely felt than most
other Austrians, Mises has influenced many as well. For example, Mises has
influenced many classical liberal historians, such as Leonard Liggio.