The Marginal Revolutionaries

How Austrian Economists Fought the War of Ideas

By: Janek Wasserman

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

A group history of the Austrian School of Economics, from the coffeehouses of imperial Vienna to the modern-day Tea Party

The Austrian School of Economics - a movement that has had a vast impact on economics, politics, and society, especially among the American right - is poorly understood by supporters and detractors alike. Defining themselves in opposition to the mainstream, economists such as Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and Joseph Schumpeter built the School’s international reputation with their work on business cycles and monetary theory. Their focus on individualism - and deep antipathy toward socialism - ultimately won them a devoted audience among the upper echelons of business and government.

In this collective biography, Janek Wasserman brings these figures to life, showing that in order to make sense of the Austrians and their continued influence, one must understand the backdrop against which their philosophy was formed - notably, the collapse of the Austro‑Hungarian Empire and a half‑century of war and exile.

©2019 Janek Wasserman (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Very good economic history, terribly narrated

Some narrators put on accent when pronouncing foreign words and names. This narrator's attempted accent is pretty bad, which by itself is no great sin. But he butchers names to the point of non-recognition. Worse, he says them several different ways. Carl Menger's surname is variously pronounced Maynard, Maynor, and possibly Minor at some point. He usually pronounces Eugen Bohm-Bawerk's name as simply "Berm," and it took me the better part of a chapter before I caught on to this, necessitating a second listen. Pronunciation mistakes are ok, but narrators should at least be consistent about them.

Even American-born economists such as George Stigler and Israel Kirzner get the narrator's bad accent, worse pronunciation treatment. Readers not familiar with the names should have either the print version or Wikipedia handy, because the narrator's attempt at authenticity nearly ruins an excellent work of economic history. It needs to be re-recorded with a different narrator.

Excellent - highly informative

Most interesting and informative book indeed. Enjoyed it greatly. Very well researched and narrated. Contains a wealth of information set out in a logical fashion. When the text contrasts Austrian Economics with mainstream economics it is not clear to me what is mainstream economics. It is usually said that mainstream economics is neo-classical economics. Neo classical economics is the era ushered in by the marginal revolution; post 1871.

too much about the economists

not enough focus on ideas and theories . too much focus on the economists and their relationships with each other. not enough about the differences in theory with other schools

Horribly written & packed with false narratives

The endless verbiage used to say very little is truly annoying. The false narratives which don't fit the historical record is more annoying. The focus is on a "sociological" unmasking of a group of economists who produced landmark additions to our scientific knowledge. Wasserman has little interest or understanding of all that. What he cares about is ideology and Wasserman takes a political angle on everything, if he were discussion General Relativity Theory he would explain the politics giving rise to the theory, the politics of those involve in the science, and the role of the theory in the political dynamics of GRT in society across time.