The Economic Point of View

by Israel M. Kirzner, Peter J. Boettke (Editor)

Overview

The inaugural volume in Liberty Fund’s new Collected Works of Israel M. Kirzner series established Kirzner as a careful and meticulous scholar of economics. No other living economist is so closely associated with the Austrian School of economics as Israel M. Kirzner, Professor Emeritus of Economics at New York University. He has been a leader of the generation of Austrian School economists following Ludwig von Mises and F. A. Hayek.

In this work, Kirzner explains how the “economic point of view” emerged in the development of economic science since the eighteenth century and through it, the concepts of purpose, subjectivism, and rationality. Kirzner’s incomparable ability to navigate through the core ideas of economics helps the reader become progressively familiar with the history of the discipline and its definition.

Within the seven chapters, Kirzner discusses such subjects as the science of wealth and welfare; the nature of economic science and the significance of macroeconomics; and the sciences as human action.

Israel M. Kirzner is a leading economist in the Austrian School and Professor Emeritus of Economics at New York University.

Peter J. Boettke is UniversityProfessor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason Universityand the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center.

Frédéric Sautet is a visiting associate professor of economics at the Catholic Universityof America. Previously, he has taught at George Mason University, New York University, and the Universityof Paris Dauphine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865977334
Publisher:	Liberty Fund, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/16/2009
Series:	The Collected Works of Israel M. Kirzner , #1
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Liberty Fund Edition Peter J. Boettke Frédéric Sautet xi

Introduction to the Second Edition Laurence S. Moss xxi

Foreword Ludwig von Mises xxv

Author's Preface xxvii

Acknowledgments xxix

1 On Defining the Economic Point of View 1

The Economic Point of View and the Scope of Economics 3

The Multitude of Economic Points of View 5

The Controversy Over the Utility of Definition 6

An Interpretation of the Controversy 8

The Economists and Their Definitions: The Classical Economists 12

The Economic Point of View: The Background of the Methodenstreit 14

Twentieth-Century Economic Points of View 17

2 The Science of Wealth and Welfare 20

The Emergence of Political Economy as the Science of Wealth 21

The Science of Material Wealth 28

The Science of Subsistence 33

The Science of Wealth Retained 39

Man Against Nature 43

From Wealth to Welfare 46

The Science of the Lower Side of Human Nature 52

3 The Science of Avarice; Getting the Most for the Least 55

The Science of Avarice 55

The Economic Principle 61

The "Economic Impulse" 65

Selfishness and "Non-Tuism" 69

Economics and Mechanics 71

4 Economics, the Market, and Society 76

Economics and Catallactics 76

Exchange and the Propensity to Truck 81

Exchange and the Division of Labor 83

The "Purely Formal" Concept of Exchange 85

Exchange and the Economic System 87

Economics, the Economy, and the Volkswirtschaft 90

Economy and Society 93

5 Economic Affairs, Money, and Measurement 97

Money, Wealth, and Exchanges 97

Money as the Measuring Rod 101

Money as a Universal Measuring Rod 104

Measurement and Economics 104

Money and Price-Economics108

Money as an Economic Institution 111

6 Economics and Economizing 114

The Economics of Professor Robbins 115

Scarcity and Economics 117

Economizing and Maximization 121

The Character of Robbins's Definition 123

A The "Breadth" of Robbins's Definition 125

B The "Formalism" of Robbins's Definition 127

The Nature of Ends and Means 130

"Given" Ends and Means 134

Single End and Multiple Ends 138

Economics and Ethics: The Positive and the Normative 142

The Nature of Economic Science and the Significance of Macroeconomics 147

7 Economics as a Science of Human Action 151

I

The Sciences of Human Action 153

The Emergence of the Praxeological View of Economics 156

Max Weber and Human Action 161

Acting Man and Economizing Man: Mises and Robbins 163

II

Praxeology and Purpose 166

Praxeology and Rationality 170

The Assumption of Constant Wants-The Praxeological Context 176

Praxeology, Apriorism, and Operationalism 181

The Economic Point of View and Praxeology 185

Becker-Kirzner Debate

Irrational Behavior and Economic Theory Gary S. Becker 193

Rational Action and Economic Theory Israel M. Kirzner 211

Rational Action and Economic Theory: A Reply to I. Kirzner Gary S. Becker 221

Rational Action and Economic Theory: Rejoinder Israel M. Kirzner 225

Index 229

Editorial Reviews

Certain thinkers in a field rise far and above all others in their field to grant new ideas.  The Economic Point of View: The Collected Works of Israel M. Kirzner  is the collected essays of Kirzner, an Austrian economist who is highly revered in scholarly circles that discuss economics. Here, his writings lay out his beliefs and ideas with much evidence on how he believes the world of money works in the modern era. Drawing on debates Kirzner engaged in and other sources, The Economic Point of View is an intellectual and educational read that belongs on any economics research shelf.

The Midwest Book Review
March 2010



Praise for the Previous Edition

...The Economic Point of View can be recommended both to the specialist and to those intrepid amateurs who are willing to struggle with its style and its numerous references to the literature in the field. It is probably the best single reference book now available on the history of the discussion of what constitutes "the eco­nomic point of view." Kirzner traces the discussion from ap­proximately the time of Adam Smith, when economics was thought to be a wealth-centered study, through the period when it was thought to be centered on man in his wealth­-getting activities, to the more modern definitions of eco­nomics as a science of human action (the praxeological view of economics, associated particularly with the name of Pro­fessor Mises).

Those who are tempted to ask, "What difference does it make how economics is defined?", would do well to read this book and find out. For example, the early definitions of eco­nomics in terms of wealth-getting were partly responsible for the low repute of the science. Its concern seemed to be only with the "vulgar" activities of man or when he was operating at his worst. The praxeological view, in which economics is viewed as the study of man in the process of making rational choices among alternatives, relieves economics of much of the stigma that was once attached to it for definitional reasons alone. This is a reference book that every economist, profes­sional or amateur, should have on his shelf—after reading.

National Book Foundation
February 15, 1962

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