The Marginal Revolutionaries, Janek Wasserman
The Marginal Revolutionaries, Janek Wasserman
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The Marginal Revolutionaries
How Austrian Economists Fought the War of Ideas

Author: Janek Wasserman

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Unabridged: 15 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/24/2019

Synopsis

A group history of the Austrian School of Economics, from the coffeehouses of imperial Vienna to the modern-day Tea PartyThe Austrian School of Economics—a movement that has had a vast impact on economics, politics, and society, especially among the American right—is poorly understood by supporters and detractors alike. Defining themselves in opposition to the mainstream, economists such as Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and Joseph Schumpeter built the School’s international reputation with their work on business cycles and monetary theory. Their focus on individualism—and deep antipathy toward socialism—ultimately won them a devoted audience among the upper echelons of business and government.In this collective biography, Janek Wasserman brings these figures to life, showing that in order to make sense of the Austrians and their continued influence, one must understand the backdrop against which their philosophy was formed—notably, the collapse of the Austro‑Hungarian Empire and a half‑century of war and exile.

About Janek Wasserman

Janek Wasserman is associate professor at the University of Alabama. He is the author of Black Vienna: The Radical Right in the Red City, 1918–1938.

About Paul Boehmer

Paul Boehmer attended his first Shakespearean play while in high school; he knew then that he was destined to become the classically trained actor he is today. Graduating with a master's degree, Paul was cast as Hamlet by the very stage actor who inspired his career path. A nod from the Universe he'd chosen aright! Paul has worked on Broadway and extensively in regional theater. Coinciding with another of his passions, sci-fi, Paul has been cast in various roles in many episodes of Star Trek. Paul's love of literature and learning led him by nature to his work as a narrator for audiobooks, his latest endeavour. Paul is married to the love of his life, Offir, and they live in Los Angeles with their two midnight-rambling tomcats, Dread and David.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Matt on June 16, 2021

This is really a fantastic book. I've been familiar with the work of Mises, Hayek, and Menger for decades, and thought that I knew a lot about the Austrian school. But I learned a ton from this book. The book really shines in its coverage of the early "first generation" Viennese Austrians such as Me......more

Goodreads review by Joshua on April 14, 2021

Using previously unknown archival material, Wasserman offers an interesting historical account of the Austrian school of economics and its "marginal revolution." The "marginal revolution" refers to the profound change in economics that took place when economist Carl Menger and others in the Austrian......more

Goodreads review by Peter on May 09, 2020

The Austrian School of Economics has become a centerpiece of popular conservative thinking from the Koch brothers to Glenn Beck, from think tanks like the Rockefeller Foundation to the von Mises Institute. But what was it, and what did (does?) it contribute? That is the topic of Janek Wasserman's Th......more

Goodreads review by Marcel on November 24, 2021

Unlike other books on History of Economic Thought I have read, which select a group of famous economists and dedicate a chapter to each at a time ([URL not allowed] [URL not allowed] [URL not allowed]), “The Marginal Revolutionarie......more

Goodreads review by Otto on November 24, 2019

This is a well researched, rich in scope, fair and balanced intellectual biography of the Austrian School. Its central characters are all the major thinkers of the school, from Menger and Böhm-Bawerk to Mises and Hayek, without forgetting figures like Morgenstern, Machlup, Haberler, etc. Impressivel......more

Quotes

“Wasserman’s study is learned and accessible, demystifying and elegant; above all, it corrects popular misconceptions about the origins and legacies of Austrian economics.” Jeremy Adelman, Princeton University

“Wasserman has done the impossible, producing a readable guide to the whole story while shirking none of the [Austrian] School’s complexity. A serious achievement.” Quinn Slobodian, author of Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism

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