Economics for Real People
An Introduction to the
Austrian School
2nd Edition
Economics for Real People
An Introduction to the
Austrian School
2nd Edition
Gene Callahan
Copyright 2002, 2004 by Gene Callahan
All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher
to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in
critical reviews or articles.
Published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, 518 West Magnolia Avenue,
Auburn, Alabama 36832-4528.
ISBN: 0-945466-41-2
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Dedicated to Professor Israel Kirzner, on the occasion of
his retirement from economics.
My deepest gratitude to my wife, Elen, for her support and
forbearance during the many hours it took to complete this
book.
Special thanks to Lew Rockwell, president of the Ludwig
von Mises Institute, for conceiving of this project, and having
enough faith in me to put it in my hands.
Thanks to Jonathan Erickson of Dr. Dobb’s Journal for per-
mission to use my Dr. Dobb’s online op-eds, “Just What Is
Superior Technology?” as the basis for Chapter 16, and “Those
Damned Bugs!” as the basis for part of Chapter 14.
Thanks to Michael Novak of the American Enterprise Insti-
tute for permission to use his phrase, “social justice, rightly
understood,” as the title for Part 4 of the book.
Thanks to Professor Mario Rizzo for kindly inviting me to
attend the NYU Colloquium on Market Institutions and Eco-
nomic Processes.
Thanks to Robert Murphy of Hillsdale College for his fre-
quent collaboration, including on two parts of this book, and for
many fruitful discussions.
Thanks to the many commentators on the book (and sections
of it as they appeared in article form), whose efforts improved
this book tremendously and drove me to greater precision
and clarity of expression. These include Walter Block (Loyola
5
University), Peter Boettke (George Mason University), Sam
Bostaph (University of Dallas), Colin Colenso (Shanghai,
China), Harry David (New Haven, Conn.), Brian Doherty
(Reason), Richard Ebeling (Hillsdale College), Roge