Basic Understanding of Economics

Keynes

0 (0%)

Hayek

2 (6.7%)

Mises

4 (13.3%)

Friedman

19 (63.3%)

Rothbard

5 (16.7%)

Total Members Voted: 16

[cerpntaxt]

Hayek was a welfare state supporter

Wait doesn't that contradict the whole argument he lays out in The Road to Serfdom

[jckeyser]

Hayek was a welfare state supporter

Wait doesn't that contradict the whole argument he lays out in The Road to Serfdom

In Serfdom, his clear assertation is that government not have complete control over any national respective economy. He was willing to allow government to maintain a minimum standard for people to live by, as a beginning. I.E. instead of everyone starting out poor, everyone should begin with a base income. Sort of a reverse salary cap. Beyond that, he was a free market economist, just not very aggressively anti-government.

[freeAgent]

I think he was very aggressively anti-government and specifically stated the only areas where he supported it.  I'm not saying I agree with him, but I really don't see him as being very pro-government at all.

Of course, you could definitely argue that he would have supported a non-democratic system of government so long as it was small.  He's not a huge advocate of democracy from what I remember.

[cerpntaxt]

Hayek was a welfare state supporter

Wait doesn't that contradict the whole argument he lays out in The Road to Serfdom

In Serfdom, his clear assertation is that government not have complete control over any national respective economy. He was willing to allow government to maintain a minimum standard for people to live by, as a beginning. I.E. instead of everyone starting out poor, everyone should begin with a base income. Sort of a reverse salary cap. Beyond that, he was a free market economist, just not very aggressively anti-government.

So just inconsistent. I didn't read the whole book, I probably should...

[mickalos]

In Serfdom, his clear assertation is that government not have complete control over any national respective economy. He was willing to allow government to maintain a minimum standard for people to live by, as a beginning. I.E. instead of everyone starting out poor, everyone should begin with a base income. Sort of a reverse salary cap. Beyond that, he was a free market economist, just not very aggressively anti-government.

Friedman's negative income tax would do the same thing wouldn't it? I'm pretty sure neither of them are supporters of the welfare state in the traditional sense, i.e., the cradle to grave mentality, individual responsibility to be replaced with "social responsibility", and redistribution of wealth (Hayek definitely despised the final one, and I assume Friedman felt the same). If Friedman and Hayek can't be considered libertarians then how can libertarianism ever become anything more than a marginalised movement of perceived lunatics?

[cerpntaxt]

Friedman's negative income tax would do the same thing wouldn't it? I'm pretty sure neither of them are supporters of the welfare state in the traditional sense, i.e., the cradle to grave mentality, individual responsibility to be replaced with "social responsibility", and redistribution of wealth (Hayek definitely despised the final one, and I assume Friedman felt the same). If Friedman and Hayek can't be considered libertarians then how can libertarianism ever become anything more than a marginalised movement of perceived lunatics?

Consistency

[theghostofbj]

* Who cares

[Taors]

That's bullshit. Hayek and Friedman were both libertarians in the traditional sense.

[jckeyser]

That's bullshit. Hayek and Friedman were both libertarians in the traditional sense.

Friedman more so than Hayek. Hayek had a weird belief that government should be there to bail people out in a few situations.

[cerpntaxt]

The argument "is/was X a libertarian?" is the single lamest argument ever.

[Taors]

The argument "is/was X a libertarian?" is the single lamest argument ever.

Then stop arguing about it.

[cerpntaxt]

The argument "is/was X a libertarian?" is the single lamest argument ever.

Then stop arguing about it.

I did...

[Taors]

You're still posting in this thread.

[cerpntaxt]

You're still posting in this thread.

Yeah...

[Taors]

Righto.