Here’s Mises interpreting Marx: “The capitalists, in their subconsciousness ashamed of the mean greed motivating their own conduct and anxious to avoid social disapproval, encouraged their sycophants, the economists, to proclaim doctrines which could rehabilitate them in public opinion.” (Human Action, 78) Now it appears that Marx was in many ways right in his denunciation, except that he got the theory of class conflict wrong: the numerous so-called economists are sycophants not of the bourgeoisie but of special interests and the state. These economists have betrayed their calling to analyze the consequences of human actions not in the short-run and only for certain groups of people (such as the politically connected Wall Street firms) but in the long-run and for all groups. They have also failed to abide by rule utilitarianism, in that the market and a regime of private property cannot bear bailouts, subsidies, fiat money, massive government debt, and other forms of interventionism and outright socialism. They should be vociferously calling for explicit laws against this sort of things. As it is, they are paid shills for the political class.
Source link: http://blog.mises.org/8564/mainstream-economists-bleah/
Mainstream Economists, Bleah
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Pretty much sums it up IMO.
In other words, what the government is doing to the financial sector should not merely be judged imprudent; it should be utterly illegal, as well, unless it already is unconstitutional.
But as Hoppe posited, a Constitution in which the government is given the sole authority to legistate, enforce, and interpret the law will inevitably lead us to where we are today. Our various states, central, local, and community, generally do not recognize that the root of freedom and progress is private property. They assess taxes on my income, my purchases, my land, and have legislated themselves the power to deprive me of my property for their own economic gain. But people refuse to see it, or to acknowledge that it is WRONG!
I had no idea there was an “Economist creed”, although it makes perfect sense.
I must read human action
Joseph Rodgers:
There’s no “economist’s creed” to be found either in reality or in HUMAN ACTION. There’s only the creed of those dedicated (whether as economists or in other walks of life) to truth and “doing right.” But do, certainly, read HUMAN ACTION and, besides learning a great deal of what there is to be known of Economics, you will become aware of being in the presence of true nobility of soul.
And, to the extent that I can avoid it, I won’t post this three times!
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