Since its founding with Carl Menger’s Principles of Economics in 1871, the Austrian School of economics has provided a coherent, realistic framework for understanding the market economy. In the twentieth century, the Austrian economists—notably Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and Murray Rothbard—elaborated upon the pure theory, but also applied it to political and historical analyses. The consistent theme throughout was the resilience and creativity of free individuals.
The Ludwig von Mises Institute was established in 1982 to carry on this intellectual tradition. In addition to its numerous publications and academic conferences, the Mises Institute now (with the rise of the Internet) reaches millions of readers worldwide. With thousands of daily commentaries, years’ worth of academic journal articles, scores of lectures in both audio and video format, and even dozens of major Austrian books—all available at the click of a mouse—any enthusiast with sufficient dedication can become an expert in the Austrian worldview.
Ironically, this cornucopia of resources makes it difficult for the newcomer to first learn the basics and then gradually digest more advanced material. Since I became affiliated with the Mises Institute a few years ago, I personally have received email requests for a home study curriculum, while the Institute itself has fielded many similar requests during its history. This gap has finally
been filled with the Mises Institute Home Study Course in Austrian Economics.
The Home Study Course is a year-long study of not merely economic theory, but also the “Austrian” approach to politics, history, and ethics. The course is divided into fifty-two topics (one for each week), which are grouped into the categories of Core Austrian Theory, Ethical Foundations, Applied Economic Topics, Government Distortions, Economic History, Alternative Schools of Thought, and Perspectives on the Past and Future.
For each week’s topic, the course provides an audio lecture (on a CD in MP3 format) from an expert in the area, and assigns a reading selection from either the books or booklet of supplemental readings, all included with the Home Study Course. Finally, for each topic there is a list of study questions tailored to that week’s reading.
The audio lectures are generally drawn from previous Mises Institute events (such as the popular Mises University and other seminars), but there are also lectures given by affiliated speakers in other venues. In addition, there are two interviews (on consumer protection and education) recorded specifically for this Home Study Course. The lecturers include many of today’s MISES INSTITUTE HOME STUDY COURSE IN AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS important Austrian thinkers, such as Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Walter Block, Joseph Salerno, Thomas DiLorenzo, Thomas Woods, Jörg Guido Hülsmann, George Reisman, Ralph Raico, Robert Higgs, Roger Garrison, Peter Klein, Jeffrey Herbener, Mark Thornton, Lew Rockwell, David Gordon, Richard Vedder, Richard Ebeling, David Osterfeld, and Robert Murphy. In addition, there are classic lectures by Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, and Robert LeFevre.
This provides an advantage that no classroom can provide: the best thinkers and lectures stretching back half a century.
The Home Study Course also includes the following foundational library of sixteen books:
Finally, the Home Study Course comes with a packet containing the following supplemental readings, chosen to ensure that the student will be familiar with even the most advanced areas of the literature:
Here is my suggested approach to get the most out of the course: Each week, first listen to the audio lecture. (Because most of the speakers could not assume that their audience consisted of experts, the lectures generally serve as a great introduction to the topic.) Second, glance over (but do not yet try to answer) the assigned study questions. Finally—and this will take the bulk of the
week’s time—tackle the assigned reading(s), answering the study questions as you go along.
The Home Study Course is designed to give as much as the student wishes to take out of it. The novice can listen to the lectures and skip the more difficult readings, while the decades-long enthusiast can boggle over the advanced journal articles and the (few) tough study questions. But regardless of one’s background, the dedicated student can, with the help of the Mises Institute Home Study Course in Austrian Economics, truly become an expert in Austrian economics, and gain a deep understanding of the Austrian influence on related disciplines in the social sciences.
-Robert P. Murphy
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
(in lesson-plan order):
The Ludwig von Mises Institute was established in 1982 to carry on this intellectual tradition. In addition to its numerous publications and academic conferences, the Mises Institute now (with the rise of the Internet) reaches millions of readers worldwide. With thousands of daily commentaries, years’ worth of academic journal articles, scores of lectures in both audio and video format, and even dozens of major Austrian books—all available at the click of a mouse—any enthusiast with sufficient dedication can become an expert in the Austrian worldview.
Ironically, this cornucopia of resources makes it difficult for the newcomer to first learn the basics and then gradually digest more advanced material. Since I became affiliated with the Mises Institute a few years ago, I personally have received email requests for a home study curriculum, while the Institute itself has fielded many similar requests during its history. This gap has finally
been filled with the Mises Institute Home Study Course in Austrian Economics.
The Home Study Course is a year-long study of not merely economic theory, but also the “Austrian” approach to politics, history, and ethics. The course is divided into fifty-two topics (one for each week), which are grouped into the categories of Core Austrian Theory, Ethical Foundations, Applied Economic Topics, Government Distortions, Economic History, Alternative Schools of Thought, and Perspectives on the Past and Future.
For each week’s topic, the course provides an audio lecture (on a CD in MP3 format) from an expert in the area, and assigns a reading selection from either the books or booklet of supplemental readings, all included with the Home Study Course. Finally, for each topic there is a list of study questions tailored to that week’s reading.
The audio lectures are generally drawn from previous Mises Institute events (such as the popular Mises University and other seminars), but there are also lectures given by affiliated speakers in other venues. In addition, there are two interviews (on consumer protection and education) recorded specifically for this Home Study Course. The lecturers include many of today’s MISES INSTITUTE HOME STUDY COURSE IN AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS important Austrian thinkers, such as Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Walter Block, Joseph Salerno, Thomas DiLorenzo, Thomas Woods, Jörg Guido Hülsmann, George Reisman, Ralph Raico, Robert Higgs, Roger Garrison, Peter Klein, Jeffrey Herbener, Mark Thornton, Lew Rockwell, David Gordon, Richard Vedder, Richard Ebeling, David Osterfeld, and Robert Murphy. In addition, there are classic lectures by Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, and Robert LeFevre.
This provides an advantage that no classroom can provide: the best thinkers and lectures stretching back half a century.
The Home Study Course also includes the following foundational library of sixteen books:
- 15 Great Austrian Economists (Randall G. Holcombe, ed.)
- Against Leviathan (Robert Higgs)
- An Introduction to Economic Reasoning (David Gordon)
- Introduction to Austrian Economics (Thomas Taylor)
- Antitrust: The Case for Repeal (Dominick Armentano)
- Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays (Ludwig von Mises, Gottfried
- Haberler, Murray N. Rothbard, and Friedrich A. Hayek)
- Chaos Theory: Two Essays on Market Anarchy (Robert Murphy)
- Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth (Ludwig von Mises)
- Economic Science and the Austrian Method, (Hans-Hermann Hoppe)
- Economics for Real People (Gene Callahan)
- Economics in One Lesson (Henry Hazlitt)
- Economics of Liberty, The (Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., ed. )
- Education, Free and Compulsory (Murray N. Rothbard)
- Theory and History (Ludwig von Mises)
- Two Essays by Ludwig von Mises (Ludwig von Mises)
- What Has Government Done to Our Money? (Murray N. Rothbard)
Finally, the Home Study Course comes with a packet containing the following supplemental readings, chosen to ensure that the student will be familiar with even the most advanced areas of the literature:
- Block, Walter, “Free Market Transportation: Denationalizing the Roads,” Journal of Libertarian Studies 3, no. 2 (1979): 209–38.
- Block, Walter, “Coase and Demsetz on Private Property Rights,” Journal of Libertarian Studies 1, no. 2 (1977): 111–15.
- Callahan, Gene, “Rethinking Patent Law,” Mises.org Daily Article, July 18, 2000.
- Callahan, Gene, “In Praise of Bugs,” Mises.org Daily Article, March 27, 2000.
- Hoppe, Hans-Hermann, “On Certainty and Uncertainty, Or: How Rational Can Our Expectations Be?” Review of Austrian Economics 10, no. 1 (1997): 49–78.
- Klein, Peter, “Entrepreneurship and Corporate Governance,” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 2, no. 2 (Summer, 1999): 19–42.
- Mises, Ludwig von, Money, Method, and the Market Process, chapter 12: “The Plight of the Underdeveloped Nations” (Norwell, Mass.: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1990).
- Mises, Ludwig von, Money, Method, and the Market Process, chapter 21: “The Idea of Liberty is Western” (Norwell, Mass.: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1990).
- Rothbard, Murray N. For a New Liberty, chapter 2: “Property and Exchange,” 2nd ed. (1973, 1978; Auburn, Ala.: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2005).
- Rothbard, Murray N. “World War I as Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals,”
- Journal of Libertarian Studies IX, no. 1 (Winter, 1989): 82–124.
Here is my suggested approach to get the most out of the course: Each week, first listen to the audio lecture. (Because most of the speakers could not assume that their audience consisted of experts, the lectures generally serve as a great introduction to the topic.) Second, glance over (but do not yet try to answer) the assigned study questions. Finally—and this will take the bulk of the
week’s time—tackle the assigned reading(s), answering the study questions as you go along.
The Home Study Course is designed to give as much as the student wishes to take out of it. The novice can listen to the lectures and skip the more difficult readings, while the decades-long enthusiast can boggle over the advanced journal articles and the (few) tough study questions. But regardless of one’s background, the dedicated student can, with the help of the Mises Institute Home Study Course in Austrian Economics, truly become an expert in Austrian economics, and gain a deep understanding of the Austrian influence on related disciplines in the social sciences.
-Robert P. Murphy
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
(in lesson-plan order):
- Rothbard, Murray N. For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto, chapter 2: “Property and Exchange,” rev. ed. (New York: Collier Books, 2002).
- Klein, Peter, “Entrepreneurship and Corporate Governance,” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 2, no. 2 (Summer, 1999): 19-42.
- Hoppe, Hans-Hermann, “On Certainty and Uncertainty, Or: How Rational Can Our Expectations Be?” Review of Austrian Economics 10, no. 1 (1997): 49–78.
- Block, Walter, “Free Market Transportation: Denationalizing the Roads,” Journal of Libertarian Studies 3, no. 2 (1979): 209–38.
- Callahan, Gene, “Rethinking Patent Law,” Mises.org Daily Article, July 18, 2000.
- Callahan, Gene, “In Praise of Bugs,” Mises.org Daily Article, March 27, 2000.
- Mises, Ludwig von, Money, Method, and the Market Process, chapter 21: “The Idea of Liberty is Western,” Richard Ebeling, ed. (Norwell, Mass.: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1990).
- Mises, Ludwig von Mises, Money, Method, and the Market Process, Chapter 12, “The Plight of the Underdeveloped Nations,” Richard Ebeling, ed. (Norwell, Mass.: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1990).
- Rothbard, Murray N. “World War I as Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals,” Journal of Libertarian Studies IX, no. 1 (Winter, 1989): 81–125.
- Block, Walter, “Coase and Demsetz on Private Property Rights,” Journal of Libertarian Studies 1, no. 2 (1977): 111–15.
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