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by seibelj 1925 days ago
What does “worship” mean? I am a believer of the Austrian theory of economics. Are Keynesian / Monetarists also “worshippers” of a theory? Modern economics is not that old. I fundamentally believe printing as much money as we are across the rich world is going to lead to disaster, just as it has time and again in the developing world (see Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Brazil, etc.).

If anything, Austrian economics is a reversion to the standard theory of economics for thousands of years. The “innovation” of Keynesian economics is one of the greatest evils ever perpetuated on society. But again - what do I know - I don’t have a PhD from an Ivy. I just protect my assets in a zero-interest world by avoiding government threat.

4 comments

Austrian economics is a reversion to the standard theory of economics for thousands of years.

Thousands of incredibly poor years by today's standards.

The gold standard's deflation was associated with pretty good results:

https://www.nber.org/papers/w10329

In any case, in a multi-currency world with low-friction electronic exchanges available, it stands to reason that deflation is less likely to be damaging, since the switching costs to more inflationary currencies are low.

Keynesians think money grows on tree. It is true in some senses. Apples grow on tree. At the extreme, they think money is imaginary. They can print as much as they want.

Austrians think money grows from hard money. It is also true in some senses. Money is made from money. It's circular and Ponzi-like. It requires you to believe in what hard money is. Austrian thinking leads to some cult-like behaviors. At the extreme, they'd be rent-seeking their precious Store of Value. It's just as evil as the Keynesians.

Money is data (Keynesian) with some kind of illusions (Austrian). The money that we need is between the Keynesians and Austrians.

Keynesians believe that stimulating the right part of the economy will increase the speedup of recovery. When you fail to stimulate the right part of the economy that's not Keynesian economics. Most proponents of Keynesian politics are in favor of fiscal stimulus. Namely infrastructure investments and jobs programs. Where do you see this happening?

Meanwhile Austrian economics is just some meme that is anti Keynesian and doesn't even attempt to solve any problem other than get rid of Keynesian economics. This is especially telling when they are extra loud when no Keynesian economics are being done so they feel justified in their criticism.

What we have right now is closer to trickle down economics. Douse the rich in money with the hope that some drops reach the poor.

>I fundamentally believe printing as much money as we are across the rich world is going to lead to disaster, just as it has time and again in the developing world (see Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Brazil, etc.).

When will the US government repossess farms and corporations? Once that happens I can guarantee that hyperinflation is going to happen. Another way is to just bomb the USA's means of production.

Those are the primary ways hyperinflation happens. By destroying the ability to exchange currency for products and services the perceived value of the currency becomes worthless. It doesn't even take an increased money supply for it to happen, it merely accelerates hyperinflation by adding additional money into an economy where the velocity of money is at its peak.

>If anything, Austrian economics is a reversion to the standard theory of economics for thousands of years. The “innovation” of Keynesian economics is one of the greatest evils ever perpetuated on society. But again - what do I know - I don’t have a PhD from an Ivy. I just protect my assets in a zero-interest world by avoiding government threat.

According to Keynesian economics we would have to print significantly less money. Whatever is happening right now is neither Keynesian economics nor MMT. It's a pump and dump for rich people.

>I fundamentally believe printing as much money as we are across the rich world is going to lead to disaster

You are fundamentally wrong. Austrian has worshippers because it's a cult. It has no basis in reality.