The Future is Uncertain

                                          

With the unpredictability of human choice due to changing ideas, values, and natural phenomena it is impossible to predict the future, especially in terms of political economy. So why do so many economists, philosophers, and political scientists claim to have all the answers? They are simply not dealing in reality. The fact that humans act, makes political economy unpredictable. If economics and politics were predictable there would be no reason for humans to act. Murray Rothbard comes from the school of thought which is based on an orderly universe, objective standards of truth, and the idea that there is a Natural Law which can be rationally apprehended, by all men, of all places, and all times. In short, The Austrian School of Economics is grounded in reality.

On the other hand, Austrian Economics begins with the action axiom as the basis for economic thought. This axiom simply states that all humans act. Praxeology is the science of human action. This science begins with the following propositions. First, all humans act purposefully. It is from this basic starting point that Rothbard and other Austrians have deduced an entire edifice of economic truth.  Any attempt to deny this principle is self-refuting, because to deny that humans act is an act in itself. While some Austrians, such as Ludwig von Mises, held that this is an a priori truth, Rothbard’s own position is in the Aristotelian and Thomistic tradition. His is an empirical position resting on reasoned generalization from the constant testimony of sense experience. Human action is an attempt to replace a less desirable condition with a more satisfactory condition. This is in full agreement with St. Thomas Aquinas who held that every agent acts for an end and acts for at least a perceived good.