Lecture series · recorded 2010
Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard
Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard is a free lecture series (7 recordings, 5 hours) you can stream or download at freecapitalists.org, with Murray N. Rothbard.
This informal seminar with Murray N. Rothbard was recorded in Toronto, Ontario, on 4 September 1983. Special thanks to Don Morrison for making these recordings available.
Cover painting: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert open the Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace, London, 1 May 1851. See every painting in the art gallery.
-
01
46:07 Download MP3
Introduction to Economics: Part 1 2010
Starting with Crusoe economics, Rothbard builds the economic concepts which can be developed by this analogy. These concepts are the axiom of human action . Among them are: man acts, man acts by virtue of his existence, man acts with purposeful behavior, man prefers present to future actions, resources are means to achieve ends, scarcity exists, actions take time, life is uncertain, and the theory of value is subjective. Part one of seven from Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard .
Austrian Economics Overview
Read the transcript 7,171 words
-
02
45:59 Download MP3
Introduction to Economics: Part 2 2010
Rothbard continues the Crusoe analogy. He covers subjectivity of value, and the concept of marginal utility. Part two of seven from Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard .
Austrian Economics Overview
Read the transcript 7,336 words
-
03
46:34 Download MP3
Introduction to Economics: Part 3 2010
Rothbard considers how prices are determined by supply and demand on the free market. All long shortages are caused by government interventions. Forecasting is not possible. Economics is not an objective science. Part three of seven from Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard .
Austrian Economics Overview
Read the transcript 7,527 words
-
04
45:55 Download MP3
Introduction to Economics: Part 4 2010
Costs are always ex ante . There are no such things as social costs or social benefits . Costs are determined by how much entrepreneurs think consumers will pay. Costs are not determined by supply and demand. Nobody waits for costs to raise prices. Rothbard does not believe in cost curves. Antitrust suits are often filed by one set of competitors trying to eliminate another set. Additionally, antitrust suits are money making rackets for lawyers. Interest is not just a loan; it is a time preference. Usury laws misunderstood interest. Part four of seven from Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard .
Austrian Economics Overview
Read the transcript 7,513 words
-
05
46:28 Download MP3
Introduction to Economics: Part 5 2010
The entrepreneur is the major risk bearer. Business return on capital is long run profits or losses. Real rate of interest is determined by time preferences. Government contracts are cost plus. Medical costs are higher because supply is so restricted by government intervention. Who benefits?[by government action]. Rockefeller families are heavily invested in drug companies. Cartelism. Monopolies. Yet, free market productivity causes prices of goods to drop, e.g. computer products. How the history of the business cycle starts. War stimulus, famine, were outside the market and not cyclical until around 1750. There then began to be wave-type activities. The Industrial Revolution and fractional reserve banking spread. Were these the causes of cycles? Were sunspots? Part five of seven from Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard .
Austrian Economics Overview
Read the transcript 7,730 words
-
06
45:50 Download MP3
Introduction to Economics: Part 6 2010
What causes business cycles? Keynesians say the cycles happen because the free market economy does not spend enough. Thus, pump spending in. Additionally, Keynesians say that animal spirits cause these cycles. Government must fix things. Nobody could understand Keynes’ General Theory. What was simply obscure was wrongly considered deep. Keynes linked national income with employment, by assuming wage rates are fixed downward. Although Keynes wrote of balanced budgets, there were only deficits. Part six of seven from Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard .
Austrian Economics Overview
Read the transcript 6,964 words
-
07
25:20 Download MP3
Introduction to Economics: Part 7 2010
Deficits are equal to expenditures minus taxes. Reagan spoke of cutting government spending, but meant only cutting the rate of growth of government spending. Stagflation appeared in 1957-58. Inflation during a recession was not supposed to happen. It happened again in 1973-75.
Austrian Economics Overview
Read the transcript 4,365 words
People in this series
Speakers
Recording dates, summaries and topics for 7 of these 7 lectures come from the Mises Institute's page for Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard, checked 2026-09-27.
Community
Discuss this course
No thread on Mises Community names this course yet. Start one.
Questions
About this series
- Is Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard free to listen to?
- Yes. All 7 mirrored recordings stream in the browser or download as audio, at no cost and with no signup.
- How long is Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard?
- 7 recordings, 5 hours in total.
- Who lectures in Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard?
- Murray N. Rothbard.
- When was Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard recorded?
- 2010, per the recording dates recovered for this series.
- Is there a transcript of Introduction to Economics: A Private Seminar with Murray N. Rothbard?
- Yes. Every lecture in the series has one, 48,606 words in total, free to read on each lecture's page and searchable in the browser.
Playback speed
Keyboard shortcuts
- Space or K
- Play or pause
- J or left arrow
- Back 15 seconds
- L or right arrow
- Forward 30 seconds
- , and .
- Slower and faster
- N and P
- Next and previous lecture
- ?
- This list