keynesian economics is taught at my school and after reading Murray Rothbard's work, i now cringe
listening to my teacher blame consumers for inflation
it's like she does not know what she is talking about, 3 people in my class (including me) were
interested not in economic theory but rather money creation, which is never touched on
eg where does money come from? when do governments know how to print?
at the end of every lecture they were the only questions asked yet she always said she didn't know
My economics professor was an Austrian and highly recommended Rothbard's Man, Economy and State on the first day of class. Throughout the semester she brought in several Mises.org articles dealing with the current financial crisis and we compared them as a class to stories from CNBC and Fox Business Channel. By the end of the semester most students in the class preferred the Austrian to the Neoclassical explanation of the financial crisis.
I do think that since most economicists today are Keynesian it can be a good idea to have at least a basic understand of Keynesianism. Just to understand where most economics today are coming from.
Wow, I would so much love to have an Austrian professor.
I have to cringe at a lot of things my econ professor said last semester. He somehow "knew" that if we didnt' have a New Deal, the Depression would have been much worse. WWII got us out of the GD.
I really cringed when he was talking about health care: someone asked if he thought there should be a little extra tax on cigs because of the healthcare costs, and he said "Oh yeah, I think there should be like $3 more of a tax on ciggarettes." I can't understand why freedom isn't even an option for these kind of people. He won't even consider letting people pay for their own health care, which would quite easily bypass the whole problem.
inquisitiveteenager:eg where does money come from?
I assume you mean where do Federal Reserve Notes come from and not how natural monies came to be used as mediums of exchange. But to answer the second question it is crutual to examine the orgins of money, 100% reserve banking and then fractional reserve banking.
For a more detailed and accurate explanation I recommend Rothbard's The Case Against the Fed which can be found here:
The Case Against the Fed
Hope this helps.
socialdtk:My economics professor was an Austrian and highly recommended Rothbard's Man, Economy and State on the first day of class. Throughout the semester she brought in several Mises.org articles dealing with the current financial crisis and we compared them as a class to stories from CNBC and Fox Business Channel. By the end of the semester most students in the class preferred the Austrian to the Neoclassical explanation of the financial crisis.
Where did/do you go?
At the time I was attending CVCC which is a local community college. Since then I've moved to NC State and it has been all Keynesian and Neoclassical economics since then.
I cringe...
...when my economics teacher says that supply and demand of money determine interest rates.
...when my economics teacher says that government spending and fed monkeying is the panacea for a recession.
...when my economics teacher asserts theories.
...when my economics teacher fails to see the morals of government, that it is equivelent to coercion.
...when my economics teacher talks about AS/AD.
...when my economics teacher looks at balance of payments as a problem.
...when the other students mindlessly believe the teacher like sheepie.
Schools are labour camps.
I want to attend that class!
eliotn:...when my economics teacher says that supply and demand of money determine interest rates.
Couldn't supply and demand in a roundabout way have a significent effect on interest rates? An increase in the money supply and decrease in the peoples demand to hold money promotes a very high time preference. Or a decrease in the money supply promoting savings and a lower time preference of the people.
Right but then you're assuming a shift in time preferences I think, which is the determinant (as opposed to demand and supply of money.) The statement Eliot mentioned takes it as the determinant.
Freedom of markets is positively correlated with the degree of evolution in any society...