# Think Tank > Austrian Economics / Economic Theory >  Who are your top 5 Austrian economists?

## GeorgiaAvenger

Curious to see the views of the forum, and perhaps it will spark discussion surrounding the differences of the economists.

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## Sola_Fide

Man...its hard to pick.

John Robbins
Hans Sennholz
Gary North
Ludwig Von Mises
Murray Rothbard

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## GeorgiaAvenger

> Man...its hard to pick.
> 
> John Robbins
> Hans Sennholz
> Gary North
> Ludwig Von Mises
> Murray Rothbard


I am surprised you didn't include Menger(the founder), and Hayek(the sole Nobel laureate). All of those are good picks though.

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## Sola_Fide

> I am surprised you didn't include Menger(the founder), and Hayek(the sole Nobel laureate). All of those are good picks though.


Yeah, I've read Menger and Hayek ...they are foundational.  I guess I mentioned Robbins, Sennholz, and North because they helped me see how Christianity teaches free market economics.  It has helped ground my faith and worldview.

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## erowe1

I don't know enough to make comparisons between them, but I'm a fan of Robert Higgs.

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## GeorgiaAvenger

> Yeah, I've read Menger and Hayek ...they are foundational.  I guess I mentioned Robbins, Sennholz, and North because they helped me see how Christianity teaches free market economics.  It has helped ground my faith and worldview.


I will have to look into them more.

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## BuddyRey

Robert P. Murphy, who wrote the first economics book I ever read!
Tom Woods, who also writes very engaging and accessible books for the general readership
Frederich A. Hayek, who arguably did the most to "popularize" the Austrian School
Murray Rothbard, who REALLY got me into the deeper philosophical questions underlying economics
and of course, Ron Paul, without whom I never would have learned about the other four!

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## The Binghamton Patriot

In order:

Henry Hazlitt -Runs away w. the title 
Rothbard
Mises
Hayek
Gary North

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## cubical

Of the guys who are still alive

Robert Wenzel
Robert Murphy
Tom Woods
Peter Schiff
Gary North

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## justinjj

> In order:
> 
> Henry Hazlitt -Runs away w. the title 
> Rothbard
> Mises
> Hayek
> Gary North


Is that Buchanan in your avatar?  Seems kind of strange for an Austrian fan to also be a Buchanan fan.

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## Sola_Fide

> I will have to look into them more.


http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...25#post3784625

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## Revolution9

My father. He never bought on credit (even the house he bought when he retired from the army was bought cash), only what he needed, looked for the best deal and every dime given to me I worked for. All the other Keynesian kids got an allowance. Even Christmas gifts were pure practicality. This formed my economic worldview along with being a freelance artist and dealing with market forces at every contract signing and negotiation for four decades.

That being said I rarely get into quoting authors so I just read, absorb the interesting facts and move on quickly to the next subject. Ofttimes I have heard greater wisdom than some of the theorists coming from a barstool next to mine or a snarky sigfile..but more times they were just barroom cranks. I get the feeling reading much of the mises material that I already knew that and what is the big deal. Mind you I have probably read the internets like six times already..heh..

Rev9

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## eric_cartman

here's my top 5 modern day Austrian Economists:

1) Ron Paul
2) Peter Schiff
3) Marc Faber
4) Joseph Salerno
5) Robert Prechter

I have probably learned the most about economics from these people over the last 5 years.  Before 2007, i had never heard of these people or even knew about "Austrian economics" ... and that's despite getting a minor in economics from a pretty good university.  

I still find it shocking that they don't even mention austrian economics at all in most universities. 

a few weeks ago, i actually went to sit in on a couple masters economics classes at the University of Toronto and it's pretty shocking what they're teaching these kids.  it's all basically just math and formulas that are all probably wrong.  in the macro class, they talked about the "solow growth model" which was a forumla that was supposed to tell you how much an economy is supposed to grow.  needless to say, i'm sure this model is a pretty poor predictor of growth.

and the other class was "business cycle theory" which i thought would be really cool... but yet again, it was all just math equations, formulas, models, etc.  during the break, i asked her if she ever teaches the austrian theory of the business cycle in her course, and she said that they don't.  

so i find it pretty shocking that in a masters level econ class at the best university in canada, they don't even have one lecture on the austrian theory of the business cycle. 

i took first and second year calculus about 10 years ago, so i could more or less follow along with all the math stuff... but i was definitely a bit rusty and was getting a bit confused with all the variables and the nomenclature.  i'm sure that 10 years ago, i would have no problem taking derivatives of logs and all that stuff... but it would be pretty tough to do that class now, having not done any math like that in a long time.

but i'm sure that most of these kids are graduating knowing virtually nothing about economics.

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## BrittanySligar

1)  Murray Rothbard
.
.
.
.
2)  Lv Mises
3)  Hayek
4)  Hazlitt
5)  Bastiat
6)  Menger

Living, it's hard to say.  There are a lot of great ones.

PS - Yes, we love Ron Paul, but he is not an expert in Austrian economics.  Neither is Schiff, but he knows his stuff.

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## Dreamofunity

Ludwig von Mises
Friedrich Hayek
Murray Rothbard
Israel Kirzner
Peter Boettke

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## jcannon98188

I only know 2, which are of course Mises and Hayek. Even then, I don't know a whole lot. But I am interested in learning, and this thread gave me great names to research, Thanks!

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## No Free Beer

Keynes and Krugman = the best ever.

Just look at the numbers...

(troll face)

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## WilliamShrugged

1) Rothbard
2) Mises
3) Murphy
4) Hazlitt
5) Woods/Schiff/Paul (none are economist but overall know their stuff)
*honorable mention... Dilorenzo, North, Block, and Hayek

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## The Gold Standard

In no particular order:

Ludwig von Mises
Murray Rothbard
Bob Murphy
Guido Hulsmann
Walter Block

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## eric_cartman

> I only know 2, which are of course Mises and Hayek. Even then, I don't know a whole lot. But I am interested in learning, and this thread gave me great names to research, Thanks!


go to www.mises.org

tons of free books, audio lectures, and books on tape.

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## zyphex

1. Mises
Mises was the greatest Austrian economist of all-time. Responsible for incorporating money into general economic theory with _The Theory of Money and Credit_ and therein building on and revising Wicksell's theory of the business cycle. That alone is enough of an accomplishment. Nevertheless, Mises also went on to extend criticism began by Bohm-Bawerk (when he criticized Marxism) against socialism, demonstrating that socialism made economic calculation impossible. Lastly, Mises gave a clear elucidation of the praxeological method in _Human Action_ and incorporated much of his previous ideas, including the pure time-preference theory of interest.

2. Bohm-Bawerk
Bohm-Bawerk's critique of other economic theories, especially Marxism and interest theories, make him very worthy of top 5 Austrians. Although I have not read Bohm-Bawerk, one can tell from reading the other Austrians on this list that Bohm-Bawerk was immensely important, especially in his ideas regarding the structure of production which would play a key role in Austrian Business Cycle Theory. 

3. Hayek
Without a doubt a fantastic Austrian who extended and most clearly elucidated the Austrian theory of the business cycle. His work showed that business cycles weren't merely the work of the class of bankers that could tell they were extending "excess" credit, but the inevitability of a fractional reserve system. To truly understand the ABCT, one should read Hayek's_ Prices and Production and Other Works_ available at mises.org.

4. Rothbard
Incorporated Mises pure time preference theory of interest with Bohm-Bawerk's structure of production. His work on monopolies and on violent intervention into the market are also significant contributions. This man was a machine and did so much for both the Austrians and the libertarians by ways of churning out work after work. Probably my favorite Austrian to read and the best at clearly elucidating and defending Austrian theory. He has been a humongous influence on my intellectual progress. _Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market_, to me, is the greatest exposition of economics of all-time (even though I think Mises elucidation of the foundation of praxeology is more extensive and detailed in _Human Action_)

5. Hazlitt
I wouldn't really classify Hazlitt as an Austrian theorist in that, as far as I can tell, he didn't really advance the theory, but his works contained Austrian theory, and _Economics in One Lesson_, along with, and especially, his devastating criticism of Keynes in _The Failure of the 'New Economics'_ are enough to warrant him as one of the leaders of Austrian economics.

I have read a decent amount of work by the Austrians, but obviously have a long way to go. Menger did not make my list most likely because I have not read him. Also, while immensely important, especially for economics in general (subjective value and marginalism are ridiculously important concepts), my opinion (which is completely ill-informed) is that he wasn't as important for strictly Austrian economics as these other figures. To be fair, he probably should be in there instead of Hazlitt, but I'm biased towards Hazlitt because I have read him, and both works that I have read blew me away. _Economics in One Lesson_ was really what got me off the ground, and _The Failure of 'New Economics'_ totally destroyed Keynesian theory (it is a real work of art, an exceptional criticism). For these reasons, I find Hazlitt more important for the contemporary Austrian movement. Also, his readability in Economics in One Lesson makes him even more important in that it fuels people to read more about economics, and specifically economics in the Austrian tradition. The fact of the matter is, if I am going to recommend a book to someone new to studying economics, I am going to tell them to start with _Economics in One Lesson_, not Menger's _Principles of Economics_ (also, an ignorant statement on my part because I haven't read Menger's book, but I'm fairly confident that my quick and ill-informed assessment is likely to be the same as it would be if I were informed; Hazlitt's audience was the layman, rather than just economists, and his readability is what sets him over the edge for me).

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## Austrian Econ Disciple

1) Murray Rothbard
2) Lv Mises
3) Frank Fetter
4) Jesus Huerto de Soto
5) Walter Block

As an aside, we should at least recognize the Proto-Austrians:

1) Frederic Bastiat
2) Francisco de Vitoria
3) Jean Baptiste Say
4) Richard Cantillon
5) Domingo de Soto 

Honorable mentions:

Anne Robert Jacques Turgot
Gustave de Molinari
Michel Chevalier
Karl Heinrich Rau
Joseph Schumpeter

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## bamafanmco

Top 5 How? Intellectually? Influentially? Effectively?

1. Ron Paul - has done more to promote this ideology than any of them. Ron Paul gave me my red pill, therefore he is the most highly valued Austrian in my life. If not for Paul I would likely still be lost.
2. LVM - defined praxeology setting the foundation of Austrian Economics.
3. Murray Rothbard - made the philosophy coherent and comprehendable to the masses.
4. Henry Hazlitt - probably taught more people the basics of economics in 100 pages than any other single economist.
5. Walter Block - Just my personal favorite, to meet, talk to, debate. Fairly Accessible.

All are in my Top 5 for different reasons, and will change the more I read.

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## Revolution9

Having thought about it a bit more my top five are...

1.Ron Paul
2.Dr. Ron Paul
3.Doctor Ron Paul
4.Ronald Paul PhD.
5.Dr. No

Rev9

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## RabbitMan

Ron Paul showed me the light, Mises gave me the depth, but Frederic Bastiat inspires me everyday.

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## Tim Calhoun

Anyone who mentions Peter Schiff is an idiot.

My list, in no particular order (living people):

Roger Garrison
Han-Hermann Hoppe
Jörg Guido Hülsmann
Joseph Salerno
Frank Shostak

Honorable mentions to Jesus Huerta de Soto and Walter Block

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## Occam's Banana

My list in "historical" order:

Frederic Bastiat (proto-Austrian)
Ludwig von Mises
Murray Rothbard
Joseph Salerno
Robert Murphy

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## bbartlog

I am not well-read enough to really *have* a top five (that would imply that I had read enough to leave people off the list...). Nonetheless I will nominate a top two: Bastiat and Hayek, for clarity of thought, superb exposition of their ideas, and simple humanity.

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## JVParkour

> http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...25#post3784625


Thanks so much, I downloaded them 2 days ago, and I am already on lecture 5. I've been listening in the car on my commute, and I really like them. Thanks!

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## Sola_Fide

> Thanks so much, I downloaded them 2 days ago, and I am already on lecture 5. I've been listening in the car on my commute, and I really like them. Thanks!


For sure man.

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## AlexMerced

FA Hayek
Mises
Rothbard
Modern Day I really enjoy the work of Robert Murphy on the Rothbardian side of things and was fascinated by a lot of the writings of Arnold Kling who is more in the hayekian mold.

As Historians my favorites are Rothbard and Tom Woods

Other notable charachters not exactly in the austrian tradition are Nassim Taleb, Douglass C. North, John Kenneth Galbraith (while I vehemently disagree with Galbraith and even more so his son, JKG put forth some interesting challenges to us in the free market crowd which recommend people familiarize themselves so you know how to deal with them when people bring them up)

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## Austrian Econ Disciple

> FA Hayek
> Mises
> Rothbard
> Modern Day I really enjoy the work of Robert Murphy on the Rothbardian side of things and was fascinated by a lot of the writings of Arnold Kling who is more in the hayekian mold.
> 
> As Historians my favorites are Rothbard and Tom Woods
> 
> Other notable charachters not exactly in the austrian tradition are Nassim Taleb, Douglass C. North, John Kenneth Galbraith (while I vehemently disagree with Galbraith and even more so his son, JKG put forth some interesting challenges to us in the free market crowd which recommend people familiarize themselves so you know how to deal with them when people bring them up)


You pick JKB of all those who actually have significant critiques and opposition? I would be more inclined to put someone like Jevons or Pareto. Yes, they are closer to us in the grand paradigm than JKB, but I find those closest to us, but not quite us who have an understanding of our positions are best able to put forth objections with actual methodological and practical reasoning.

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## hayekian

*Herbert Spencer*  - I know, not usually associated with the Austrian label but very much a free-market guy who was tremendously influential on many who were looking at the world in an evolutionary way at the time and ever since. Spencer was like a Hayek half a century before there was a Hayek. Carl Menger didn't write much, but at least on a couple of occasions referred to Spencer favorably, and Carl Menger's writings were very much in the spontaneous order/evolutionary path that Spencer had been popularizing better than anyone else at the time. Charles Darwin told Spencer that "Every one with eyes to see and ears to hear (the number, I fear, are not many) ought to bow their knee to you, and I for one do." and in another occasion referred to Spencer as "twenty times my superior." 

*Carl Menger* - . Menger's work not only became the foundation for the modern Austrians when it came to pure economics, but he also gave a tremendous boost to the evolutionary/spontaneous order tradition by explaining how the evolution of money and other social institutions are the result of human action but not of conscious human planning or design. Here is a great example of his contribution in this area (From Menger's "Investigations Into the Method of the Social Sciences"):





> “There exists a certain similarity between natural organisms and a series of structures of social life, both in respect to their function and their origin…Natural organisms almost without exception exhibit, when closely observed, a really admirable functionality of all parts with respect to the whole, a functionality which is not, however, the result of human calculation, but of a natural process. Similarly we can observe in numerous social institutions a strikingly apparent functionality with respect to the whole. But with closer consideration they still do not prove to be the result of an intention aimed at this purpose, i.e., the result of an agreement of members of society or of positive legislation. They, too, present themselves to us rather as “natural” products(in a certain sense), as unintended results of historical development. One needs, e.g., only to think of the phenomenon of money, an institution which to so great a measure serves the welfare of society, and yet in most nations, by far, is by no means the result of an agreement directed at its establishment as a social institution, or of positive legislation, but is the unintended product of historical development. One needs only to think of law, of language, of the origin of markets, the origin of communities and of states, etc.”


Hayek mentioned that: “I only met Mises really after I had taken my degree. But I now realize—I wouldn’t have known it at the time—the decisive influence was just reading Menger’s Principles. I probably derived more from not only the Principles but also the Investigations .” Hayek found Menger’s Principles “such a fascinating book—so satisfying.”

*Mises*  

*Hayek*

*Rothbard*

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## Xerographica

Any assistance with this economic topic would be appreciated...Why Should Perspectives Matter?

My topic 5 Austrian...kinda...economists are...

Bastiat
Hayek
Turgot
Boettke
Adam Smith!

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## Jingles

Murray Rothbard
Walter Block
Robert P. Murphy
Thomas DiLorenzo (Who got his PhD in Economics at VTech... Where I am going to school).
Hans-Hermann Hoppe

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## seraphson

Arnold Schwarzenegger







Currently reading Road to Serfdom. Good stuff.

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## Keith and stuff

> Is that Buchanan in your avatar?  Seems kind of strange for an Austrian fan to also be a Buchanan fan.


Rothbard was a big supporter of Buchanan.  Also, Hans-Hermann Hoppe and Buchanan have some similar views.  Not to mention that Lew Rockwell went out of his way for years to promote Buchanan.  Of course, Buchanan also went out of his way to help Ron Paul.

To answer the original question:
Henry Hazlitt
Tom Woods
Thomas DiLorenzo
Lew Rockwell
Murray Rothbard

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## StilesBC

1. F.A. Hayek
2. Ludwig von Mises
3. Murray Rothbard
4. Henry Hazlitt
5. Joseph Schumpeter 

Schumpeter is not really of the "Austrian School" but his ideas of "creative destruction" are imperative to understand the role failure plays in a market economy.  Some of the others can tend toward a free market utopianism, so for balance a little Schumpeter is a good suggestion for all to read.  

Living: 

1. Jesus Huerta de Soto 
2. Joseph Salerno
3. Peter Klein
4. Steve Horowitz
5. Pete Boettke 

Honourable mentions to Murphy, Shostak and Garrison.  But again, Horowitz and Boetkke get top spots for balance, as I recognize that the work the GMU crowd is doing is every bit as good/important as LvMI.  De Soto doesn't get enough credit, I assume because his lectures in English are almost incoherent for those without some background in Spanish.  But his work is one of the last remaining beachheads in Europe for economic liberty.  His book, "Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles" should be required reading for those interested in monetary issues.

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## hugolp

Apart from the "classics" (Mises/Rothbard/Hayek) some modern ones I like:

- Roger Garrison
- George Selgin
- Robert Higgs
- Steve Horwitz
- Ralph Raico

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## osan

> Curious to see the views of the forum, and perhaps it will spark discussion surrounding the differences of the economists.


I don't have five favorites.  I like anyone carrying forth and advocating the philosophy of free markets as a necessary element of human freedom.

I do have _one_ favorite Austrian economist, though: me.

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