Of Money and Methodology

Caplan's essay on Austrian economics and his critique of their quixotic efforts to differentiate themselves from other schools reminds me of a similar critique of the monetarist school. Refering to Milton Friedman, MIT economist Robert Solow once remarked that "Everything reminds Milton of the money supply. Well, everything reminds me of sex, but I keep it out of the paper.” What's true for Friedman and money holds true for Rothbard and methodology. Nothing is so important as to render all other discussions unworthy of your time. Except, of course, love. But Rothbard didn't talk about that, so he shouldn't have been so danged single-minded. He was a great thinker, but he could have been a better economist. Instead, he chose to hang himself from the cross of heterodox obscurity.