In this episode we talk about economics. We cover an essay entitled “I, Pencil” by Leonard Read. It’s written from the perspective of a pencil who makes the claim to humans that no single person could make a pencil. That essay takes us into further discussion about economics. We talk about economic methodology comparing empirical and a priori approaches. We compare the different schools of economic thought and then start to dive into the Austrian school and its approach to economics. We talk about building up economic science from the single axiom that man acts. We go through topics including money, wealth creation, prices, business cycle theory, inflation and even a discussion about making sandwiches. Enjoy the episode and make sure to look into the show notes for link to more reading and video on the topic that we link to.
Links:
It’s a beautiful short essay written from the perspective of a pencil. The pencil tells us that no single human acting on their own could make a pencil. It’s quite the claim but our pencil friend has brought the receipts to back it up.
Links:
Here are some of the links I promised on the production of pencils and milling wood and mining and refining aluminum.
Human Action by Ludwig von Mises
You can get the book for free at the Mises Institute. The Mises Institute is a great resource for information on economics. They have a ton of free books and videos and podcasts available. Worth a bookmark!
Further Reading on Economics
For a nice easy introductory read on economics, I highly recommend Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt.
For a little bit of fun, check out the epic economic rap battle between Keynes and Hayek.
For a more advanced and comprehensive look at Austrian economics, check out Man, Economy & State by Murray Rothbard. This book is still easy to read and follow compared to Mises but it is very thorough.
Another option is economist Bob Murphy’s book Choice that is essentially a modern rewriting of Human Action.
If you want the full shebang, here is Human Action by Ludwig von Mises
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Timestamps:
- 0:00:00 – Intro
- 0:03:50 – I, Pencil – Part I
- 0:06:53 – Appreciating the Simple Things
- 0:08:58 – Innumerable Antecedents
- 0:17:16 – No One Knows
- 0:20:31 – No Mastermind
- 0:26:47 – Testimony Galore
- 0:29:49 – Discussion
- 0:34:01 – Music Break
- 0:35:37 – Lost Coast Hazy IPA
- 0:38:14 – The Invisible Hand
- 0:43:12 – Empirical vs. A Priori Thinking
- 0:52:26 – Economic Schools of Thought
- 0:57:04 – Austrian Economics – The Action Axiom
- 1:01:27 – Building Economics From the Action Axiom
- 1:08:42 – Marginal Utility, Wealth Creation
- 1:17:25 – Music Break
- 1:19:13 – Sandwiches
- 1:21:50 – Origin of Money
- 1:25:04 – Origin of Money
- 1:41:39 – Prices & Interest
- 1:48:16 – Inflation & the Correct Way to Play Monopoly
- 1:49:59 – Music Break
- 1:51:20 – The Correct Way to Play Monopoly & Back to Inflation
- 1:59:16 – The Austrian Business Cycle Theory
- 2:09:55 – Other Ideas in Austrian Economics
- 2:18:16 – Outro Music