If you had to pick

[CrossofChrist]

a type of economics that best fits your views, which would it be?

 

[andrewstx]

Other than socialism and Marxism, I don’t know what the other terms mean.

 

[cfm56dash7]

Chicago is probably closest, though there is a powerful appeal to the ‘something completely different,’ but only if spoken in a Monty Python voice.

 

[tafan]

You are mixing economic schools of thought with economic theories. It’s like saying: which do you prefer, Bach, Mozart, piano, or organ.

 

[Phalanx]

I’ll go with the monty python crew…

 

[Michael57]

What, no Ministry of Silly Walks?

 

[CrossofChrist]

You are mixing economic schools of thought with economic theories. It’s like saying: which do you prefer, Bach, Mozart, piano, or organ.

Most of them aren’t compatible with the others though.

 

[tafan]

Most of them aren’t compatible with the others though.

Well, I think Chicago, Austrian, Keynesian are all schools that can be applied to ordoliberalism, distributism, and mercantilism (but I will grant you the last one could be considered a school and not a system).

The poll just does not quite make sense. I am in favor of a free-enterprise economy and would prefer a distributism model. I think, at times, true Keynesian fiscal policy could apply quite well with such a economy (ie government surpluss during growth periods and deficits during recessionary periods). I happen to favor the Chicago school of thought as to how economies actually work. The Austrians, I have a lot of sympathy for their views, but they seem to ignore some basic fundamentals (like the velocity of money) in their analysis. And who can argue with the basic tenant of mercantism, that a country should prosper through a positive balance of trade? So how am I to vote in your poll?

I will grant you this: at least you did not just list “capitalism” as one option.

 

[Lost_Sheep]

Where is Capitalism?

 

[CrossofChrist]

Well, I think Chicago, Austrian, Keynesian are all schools that can be applied to ordoliberalism, distributism, and mercantilism (but I will grant you the last one could be considered a school and not a system).

The poll just does not quite make sense. I am in favor of a free-enterprise economy and would prefer a distributism model. I think, at times, true Keynesian fiscal policy could apply quite well with such a economy (ie government surpluss during growth periods and deficits during recessionary periods). I happen to favor the Chicago school of thought as to how economies actually work. The Austrians, I have a lot of sympathy for their views, but they seem to ignore some basic fundamentals (like the velocity of money) in their analysis. And who can argue with the basic tenant of mercantism, that a country should prosper through a positive balance of trade? So how am I to vote in your poll?

I will grant you this: at least you did not just list “capitalism” as one option.

What you say is right, that in theory some of them can go together (I can especially see that with Chicago, distributism and/or Ordoliberalism). But I was going more for how the supporters of each of the different views commonly have them apply in real life. Prominent supporters of distributism–if you could really call them prominent–tend to advocate different policies than supporters of ordoliberalism, even if in theory they are very compatible. And both ordoliberalism, or the Freiburg school if you will, and the Chicago school are supply side, yet in practice we see more support for regulation coming from Ordoliberal supporters than we do from the Chicago economists. And similar with Socialists and Marxists, etc etc.

Perhaps it wasn’t a very good poll, but hopefully you can see where I was trying to come from.

 

[Cristiano]

…
Perhaps it wasn’t a very good poll, but hopefully you can see where I was trying to come from.

It is so refreshing seeing someone being so open to admit that they did not do the best job instead of climbing on mirrors just to make a point. Thank you for your candor.

 

[Reep]

Apples and oranges here. You are mixing descriptive schools of thought with economic systems. So let me pick two. I believe the Austrian school best describe how economics works.

For an economic system, I favor a truly free market (not that we have one now). I don’t think it is necessarily perfect, but it is better than any sort of command economy regulated by bureaucrats a thousand miles away.