Austrian Economics in the 21st Century

Carl Menger published Principles of Economics ([1871] 1976) 150 years ago in 1871, and he died 100 years ago in 1921 at the age of 81. Yet, what Joseph Schumpeter said of Menger after his death we could argue is still true today, “Menger is nobody's pupil and what he created stands” (Schumpeter 1969, pg. 86). He was a creative scientific genius. Mises and Hayek made similar assessments on multiple occasions. Mises claimed that Austrian economics per se owes its origins to Menger, and for many years there was no “Austrian School” only Carl Menger. And, Hayek has pointed out that all the fundamental ideas of the Austrian School of Economics belong to Menger. My task is not to provide a full history of the school, but instead to focus on the prospects for the 21st century. The basic teachings of the Austrian school of economics and the refinements made over the past 150 years must set the stage for a progressive research program in the social sciences and humanities in the 21st century. This progressive research program must be grounded in the subjectivism of value, cost, expectations and knowledge