Re:A Virtual Weimar: Hyperinflation in a Video Game World
by DArcMattr on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @06:14AM
(#5742760)
I have a Master's in Applied Math, and a Master's in Economics (educated by neo-Classicals).
Keep in mind the Austrians are not a monolithic movement, this article was published on the Von Mises Institute site, which has more to do with the Rothbardian strain of Austrians. Core to Austrian-Rothbardian theory is a system of a priori axioms and a repulsion to mathematic formulations and empirical validation, so the argumentation can end up being along the lines of "because I said so!"
The objection to mathematization comes from the belief that preference relations lead to a discontinuous utility curve, which the tools of differential calculus cannot crack (this is wrong, as a graduate-level mathematical analysis covering Lebesgue integration shows).
Keep in mind the Austrians are not a monolithic movement, this article was published on the Von Mises Institute site, which has more to do with the Rothbardian strain of Austrians. Core to Austrian-Rothbardian theory is a system of a priori axioms and a repulsion to mathematic formulations and empirical validation, so the argumentation can end up being along the lines of "because I said so!"
The objection to mathematization comes from the belief that preference relations lead to a discontinuous utility curve, which the tools of differential calculus cannot crack (this is wrong, as a graduate-level mathematical analysis covering Lebesgue integration shows).
A more detailed neoclassical analysis of what's wrong with Austrian economics is Bryan Caplan's [Why I Am Not an Austrian Economist](http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/whyaust.htm).