Free Market Economics (2026 - 2026)

In lecture two, we continue with pillars six through ten of economic wisdom, beginning with the idea that every action has unintended consequences, illustrated by examples like Britain’s rat bounty system and safety in the shipping industry. We also examine subjective value and voluntary exchange, the difference between creating jobs and creating wealth, and why real income grows only through increased output. The lecture concludes by demonstrating that competition is a "hardy weed" rather than a delicate flower, naturally emerging unless government intervention creates monopolies, as evidenced by successful deregulation in trucking and airlines that dramatically lowered prices and increased consumer choice.

In lecture three, we study the Austrian School of Economics through the work of Carl Menger and Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, key figures in the marginal revolution of 1871 that challenged the labor theory of value. We examine how they introduced the idea that value is subjective and that each additional unit of a good becomes less valuable, resolving puzzles like Adam Smith’s diamond-water paradox and showing that labor does not determine value. The lecture also covers Menger’s insights on money and price formation, along with Böhm-Bawerk’s theories of capital and interest rates, laying the foundation for modern subjective value theory and market dynamics.