I, Pencil By Leonard E. Read
I, Pencil By Leonard E. Read I am a lead pencil—the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write. Writing is both my vocation and [...]
Prisoner’s Dilemma and Self-enforcing Contracts
“Two men suspected of a crime are arrested. Though there is no evidence to convict them on a principal charge, there is enough to convict them on a lesser charge. Each prisoner is put [...]
The Tragedy of The Commons | How to avoid it?
In the manors of feudal England there were some constituent lands that were available for shared use. One of the types of these common lands were common pastures. The commoners were not their owners, [...]
Fractional Reserve Banking vs. 100% Reserve Banking
What is the difference between fractional reserve banking and full reserve banking? How do they work? Do they have advantages and disadvantages? Is one better than the other? We hired a detective to check [...]
Money Creation
Money creation: described by many as the biggest scam in the history of mankind; for others it’s a blessing and a driving force of the economy. For John Maynard Keynes it was a process [...]
Opportunity Cost | The Road Not Taken
Imagine the following situations: 1) A young man enrolls in a tuition-free public university. From his point of view he gets the education for free. He will study in a field of [...]
The Methodology of the Austrian School
When we refer to the Austrian School of Economics, we do not mean an institution located in a building in Vienna, nor we mean the Austrian economy. Instead, we mean a group of persons [...]
A Petition – Frédéric Bastiat | Candlestick makers’ Petition
A Petition - Frédéric Bastiat. Animation of famous candlestick makers' petition by Frédéric Bastiat. It's a great lesson about free trade, and a big blow to the protectionist arguments. Learn Austrian Economics in [...]
Price Discovery | How prices are determined?
In our previous videos entitled "The Value of Things" and "Scarce Resources" we have discussed how value is a subjective phenomenon. Two diverse people can estimate value of the same thing very differently. Every [...]
Why Can’t We Have Everything We Want? | Scarcity & Choice
We live in a world of scarcity. This fact is beyond question. Our time, land, and work are scarce. Producer and consumer goods are scarce as well. Human needs, however, are limitless. Economics studies [...]