Epistemological Issues in Economics

The characteristic feature of this age of destructive wars and social disintegration is the revolt against economics, as stated by Ludwig von Mises in his most thorough defense of the method and scope of economic science. In his treatise, Mises argues that the core intellectual errors of statism, socialism, protectionism, racism, and irrationalism can be found in a revolt against economic logic and its special character.

Originally published in 1933, a period when the social sciences and economic policy were undergoing upheaval, Epistemological Problems of Economics set out to put the classical view of economics as a deductive science, along with the laissez-faire policies implied by that view, on a firmer foundation. This treatise, which was out of print for many years, is now brought back by the Mises Institute in a 3rd edition, with a comprehensive introduction by Jörg Guido Hülsmann, senior fellow of the Mises Institute.

Hülsmann observes that "the great majority of contemporary economists, sociologists, political scientists, and philosophers are either completely unaware of Mises's contributions to the epistemology of the social sciences or think they can safely neglect dealing with them. They are in error. One can ignore a thinker, but the fundamental problems of social analysis remain. There will be no progress in these disciplines before the mainstream has fully absorbed and digested Mises's ideas."

In this treatise, Mises examines a range of philosophical problems associated with economics and goes further to delineate the scope of the general science of human action. He sets out to challenge the positivism and economic planning that were displacing the classical view of economics as a deductive science and the laissez-faire policies implied by that view.

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