Liberalism against Liberalism : : theoretical analysis of the works of Ludwig von Mises and Gary Becker / / Javier Aranzadi del Cerro.

• VerfasserIn: Cerro, Javier Aranzadi del,
• Place / Publishing House: London : : Taylor & Francis,, 2006.
• Year of Publication: 2006
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (232 pages)

The defence of the market and economic freedom have been the main objectives of the investigations by liberal thinkers such as Milton Friedman, Gary Becker, F Hayek and L Von Mises. Bearing in mind that the first two economists are the maximum exponents of the Chicago School and the last two of the Austrian School, it is often concluded that the theories of both schools are similar. This book demonstrates that in reality, there is no convergence or complementariness to be found between both schools of thought. The anthropological categories, contributed by Mises, allow us to understand all human phenomena from the view of the man who acts. In this view, economics is part of a philosophical system whose core is the creative capacity of people. Becker's work, on the other hand, is concentrated on the generalization of the homo economicus as the basis for explaining all human behaviour. He generalizes the maximizing principle to explain all human reality, and extends the scope of the application of a so-called scientific and technical view of the world. In this key volume, an important read for those in the fields of economic theory and political economy, Javier Aranzadi argues, in essence, that the tradition of Hayek and Mises encourages a humanistic liberalism, whereas the Chicago School proposes only a technical humanism.

Table of Contents

Two economic approaches to human behaviour in liberalism -- The object of economic study -- The scope of economics -- The characterization of economic behaviour -- The economic approach of Mises : praxeology -- The definition of economic behaviour in the work of Mises -- The structure of the work of Mises -- Development of the subjective theory of value -- The Misian theoretical system -- The Misian methodology -- The structure of the general theory of action of Mises -- Economic act and economic action -- The axiom of action -- The action and the socio-cultural framework -- The praxeological categories : causality and time -- The discovery of means and the creation of possibilities -- Introduction -- Kirzner's pure entrepreneurship -- Development of the concept of pure entrepreneurship -- The scope of pure entrepreneurship in Kirzner's work -- The entrepreneurial function and the socio-cultural framework of individual action -- The market as a social institution -- The evaluative system -- The praxeological relation between ethics and the market -- Private property in praxeology -- Causality as a praxeological category -- Causality in the work of Mises -- The Misian basis of causality -- The Misian determination of the cause -- The project -- The constituents of the project -- The temporal structure of the project -- The structure of the information in the project -- The execution of the project -- The economic approach of Becker : the generalization of homo economicus -- The definition of economic behaviour in the work of Becker -- Introduction -- The extension of the theory of utility -- Becker's theoretical model -- Critical analysis of Becker's definition of economic behaviour : stability of preferences -- The relation between Becker and Friedman -- Critical analysis of the theoretical approach of Becker to human behaviour -- Critical analysis of Beckers definition of economic behaviour : maximizing behaviour and market equilibrium -- The Beckerian explanation of prices -- Critical analysis of the Beckerian theory of prices -- The Austrian explanation of prices -- Conclusions -- Theoretical differences -- Methodological differences.