alexqr1 Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 I was browsing the web and stumbled upon this gem:http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Austrian_school#Peter_SchiffHere's the introduction:"Austrian economics (or the Austrian school of economics) is a school of economic thought that eschews mathematical modeling and empirical testing in favor of a narrative approach termed "praxeology."[2][3]As the claims of Austrian economists are difficult to verify through empirical testing (and the same economists openly admit to it), it is generally considered to be a heterodox approach[4] or outright pseudoscience.[5] Austrian arguments as to why statistical methods cannot adequately describe human behavior can seem intuitively compelling, but they fail to provide the mathematical proof demonstrating why normally unbiased estimates suddenly become biased simply because they are dealing with people who make decisions. Perhaps one reason they are so uncomfortable with empiricism is that Austrian economists are more interested in defending the political ideology of libertarianism than they are in advancing economic understanding,[6] and rigorous testing can sometimes undermine deeply held political beliefs.Can we take anything positive from it? Well, to start, its use can be found in no economy in the world... except Somalia.[7] " I could not help but to laugh at the irony that the site is called RationalWiki. We could play find the fallacy and have a field day with it. Just thought I'd share it.
WorBlux Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Most of the Austrians do in fact do empirical research. What cracks me up is they take quotes of sentence fragments, not the complete sentence Anyways they confuse the random "austrian" on the Internet for the actual academic literature. They also confuse the theory itself, with makes no moral judgements. with the moral judgements that people might reasonably make when informed by the theory, and those just out there in left feild
Magnus Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Austrian economic theories are not difficult at all to corroborate through empirical data, testing and observation. The problem is that economies are so complex and condition-sensitive that empirical test results are of limited significance. It's like the parable of the four blind men touching different parts of an elephant and describing four wildly different qualities. Complex processes have so many facts to examine, and so many causes to trace, that it's ripe for people seeing only what they want to see. Dogmatic empiricist economists always seem like they're perpetually taking a Rorschach test. Unless you can derive an explanation from reasoning, it's painfully obvious that you're just describing your own perceptions and assumptions, not reality.
ribuck Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 I think it's fair for Peter Schiff to say that Austrian Economics is built on a narrative approach rather than a rigorous mathematical model. But that narrative approach has better explanatory power and predictive power than the current best mathematical models. In other words, "Austrian economics works, bitches!"
Alan C. Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Whomever wrote that wiki entry doesn't know what he is talking about. Austrian economics eschews mathematical modeling because an economy cannot be mathematically modelled. Economies are emergent phenomena. Austrian economics has nothing to do with libertarianism. A person can be both a socialist and Austrian economist.
Forward Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 RationalWiki is a left-wing echo box, set up I believe as a counter to Conservapedia. In any case, it certainly isn't 'rational' in any shape or form.
WorBlux Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 Austrian economic theories are not difficult at all to corroborate through empirical data, testing and observation....Dogmatic empiricist economists always seem like they're perpetually taking a Rorschach test. Unless you can derive an explanation from reasoning, it's painfully obvious that you're just describing your own perceptions and assumptions, not reality. Most economic research depends on a praxeological explanation at some level or another, that is results tend to be interpreted on praxeological ideas and terms (mariginal utility, supply, demand, elasticity) and how they came together at some point in the past. but extrapolation is hard because the fundamental processes that shaped them are ordinal and ever changing. RationalWiki is a left-wing echo box, set up I believe as a counter to Conservapedia. In any case, it certainly isn't 'rational' in any shape or form. It may be heavily biased and make fallacious agruments (straw men and red herrings), but it is rational in the strict sense of the word.
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