-- At 12:15 PM -0700 on 4/27/02, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > People who think like economists or libertarians will conclude > > that markets tend to stability, because humans will analyze > > fluctuations, attempt to predict them, and then take > > precautionary action to protect themselves, which will have > > the affect of smoothing the fluctuation, unless prevented by > > forceful state action as in the 1930s. > > > > Those who think like ecologists or totalitarians will conclude > > markets are unstable, because they think that humans lack the > > wisdom to anticipate the future.
On 27 Apr 2002 at 15:45, R. A. Hettinga wrote: > Except if they're, paradoxically, "Austrian" economists, like > Hayek, or von Mises, who reject "scientism" and, oddly enough, > equilbrium theory. Rejecting equilibirum theory is not equivalent to doubting that markets tend to stability. Austrians attribute business cycles to misjudgments, thus cycles will be limited by information and skill. They disagree with each other, and keep changing their story, on which misjudgments matter, and how one misjudgment influences the next but the basic idea -- that business cycles are the result of public and private errors -- is the same as the chicago theory. --digsig James A. Donald 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG pP3cbxd4sOb1HF66EW/XKVirGNYHSgHO/DMl1vyv 4C66aZwLHi4nKNneFStStFw688CuEpfkBghGrL0qV