I’ve been studying the Austrian School of Economics for some time now, and I am proud to have finally found a home.

In the business and management world, Dr. Deming taught that without proper theory, one has no sound basis for action.  Without theory, one finds themselves endlessly reacting to events that occur around them, and their attempts to “fix” the problem only wind up making matters worse by tampering with the system.  Theory provides a lens with which one may view events, place them in context, and make rational decisions.

The Austrian School is my lens for the study of economics; the study of how individuals, acting in their own self-interest, interact with others in society and improve the standard of living of mankind through mutually beneficent exchange.  The Austrian School is proper theory because it recognizes order in society as an emergent property, the result of billions and billions of individual choices and actions taking place in the free market.

Mainstream economics, as represented by the Keynesian school, denies the emergent property of order, and instead prescribes central control as the means by which order is imposed on society.  Keynesianism is Statism.  (For more, please see my post The Two Schools of Economics.)

So after a long period of independent study, I was pleased to receive feedback in the form of a 100% Austrian score on the Austrian Economics Quiz at Mises.org.  Personally, I didn’t find the quiz all that difficult, and I know I still have a lot to learn about the Austrian School, but it was nice to verify that I’m on the right track.  In the coming years, I hope to not only be a student of the Austrian School, but a contributor to the theory.  A solid foundation in Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge provides insight that I believe can add value to the Austrian School.  I still have the itch to go back to school and earn my PhD, and have decided that if I am to do so, the study will be Economics.  I’d have to find the right fit, though, as I have no interest in earning a PhD in the Keynesian school that dominates academia.

I encourage you to take the Austrian Economics quiz – it is 25 questions in multiple choice format, and even if you choose the “Keynesian” answer, it will present the Austrian answer to each question for you to ponder.  Let me know how you did in the comments!