Okay, I'm rather new to the Austrian school. In fact, it was only in January that I started reading the literature of von Mises, Hayek, Rothbard and all the rest. Parenthetically, I think Ron Paul's greatest contribution is that he introduced at least a few of us to the Austrians.
I'm no good at economics. I'm a manager at a gas station and when I do the bookkeeping, it all seems like hocus pocus. It's taken me a while to figure out why that money goes there and why this money goes here -- and that's just simple accounting. Being so new to the study of economics - I just recently learned how important it is - I am ignorant. But I am pretty well read in history and have studied the decline and collapse of governments with a near Marxist interest.
So how can I help?
I tell my coworkers that our currency is not really backed by anything; in fact, most people I know seem to believe we are on the gold standard still. I point out that inflation is not so much the increase in the price of goods and services but the devaluation of the currency. I rant as intelligibly as I can about the Fed and fractional banking (which is, still, more akin to magic than money as far as I can tell.)
Given my station and my limited knowledge - I'm working to expand it - how can I best serve the cause? Without solicitation, mind you. Don't want to lose my job for soap-box-preaching sound money. So ya, how can I help the cause?
Help with what exactly? From what I see this is a club of thinkers, not a movement. It has true geniuses like Hoppe, Corrigan, and Murphy (and others I've read too, but just not recollecting this second) - and you can read and learn so much from their messages. And there's the incredible legacy of the likes of Menger, Mises, Hayek, Rothbard to make you know you've found a home. But Austrian Economics - as correct as it truly is - is still relegated to the sidelines (even since I, for one, encountered it exactly 25 years ago - after undergrad years of socialist econ profs to the other end of the spectrum) due primarily to a system of Keynesian-dominated policy-making. So my 2 cents would be to continue educating oneself and also inform others by sending them the excellent articles this site as available to read (and there's this forum to assist in clarifying matters too).
Good question. Sorry you don't have any replies yet. I am new to this group too.
This is what I am doing. I am supporting local candidates who share the same knowledge and beliefs. These people are from the local Ron Paul groups. One is running for the Republican Central Committee in our district.
Frankly, I think the prospects are pretty bleak for the average person living in the US, but I figure it is better to try than do nothing at all.
So I am volunteering to make phone calls and introductions for this one fellow who is running. I already gathered enough signatures to get him on the June 3rd ballot. I hold meetings at my house and recently I set up and attended a meeting with/for him with an activist who is taking on the powers that be around the water issues in our county. I am helping him to get up to speed on the issues. I will help him with signs and whatever else he needs to do.
This may not be your cup of tea, so maybe you can find other ways to help. I think a lot of it is education and you may be doing enough already by telling your friends, family, customers and co-workers about the US monetary system. I think finding communicators who are willing to read and learn is a key issue because that is one way you can duplicate your efforts.
Wish you the best and don't stop learning! Denny
This is a good question, and one whose answers I am looking forward to. Needless to say that the problems you encounter are not restricted to the USA, but are a worldwide phenomena.
Personally, I talk to my family and some of my friends about economics, although the friends that are around my age are mostly apathetic and dis-interested. In the mean time, I've made a list of about 15 headings of essays I want to complete over the summer holidays, two of which I've already finished. Hopefully, the research I will have to do in order to write them will prepare me for Uni next year. Writing essays is very good for sorting your ideas out and making them orderly, and prepares you for arguments.
I'm a senior in high school but I'll put in my two cents on economics, foreign policy, and personal liberty if the other person brings up the conversation. I'm currently doing my senior research paper (which I will later present to the class) on why the South had the right to secede and form their own government. I even put in a paragraph about the evils of Lincoln and Clay's American system which tied economic developent to a strong central government. I made a comparison between the rise of central planning in the American government and the rise of communism in the Soviet Union during the next century.
Eventually I'm going to do some YouTube videos on political subjects of interest. Hopefully I'll get some suscribers.
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If you have a somewhat solid understanding of the Austrian theory, I would suggest reading the opposition. John Maynard Keynes "General Theory" would be the place to start if you want to understand the basis of the Fed. Then Read Americas Great Depression if you havn't already, which doesn't focus on keynesian economics, but is pretty efficient at debunking it.
I found a free .pdf of it (not the greatest quality, but it suffices) if you dont want to pay for it or dont already have it.
http://www.free-ebook-download.net/business-book/1874-general-theory-employment-interest-money.html
The Easyshare link is the only one that works.
Gracias, sir. I am still in the "hangover-phase" of my love affair with the Fed. Here's looking to sobriety. I agree, it would be wise to verse myself in the mindset of the other side, if only to avoid being caught offguard and unaware. Thanks for the link!