Austrian Knights

I want to start this post by apologizing to the audience for not posting in the last two weeks. However, what I have to share this. It is too important to just let it go. On Thursday February 23, 2008, I attended a book signing of, After War written by Christopher Coyne , at the Institute for American Studies (IAS) in Washington , DC . Christopher Coyne’s event was hosted by the Mercatus Center at GMU . Coyne is alum of George Mason University . He obtained his Master and PhD degrees from GMU. In that respect Coyne and my self have the pleasure of being thought by Professor Peter Boettke . I know that Coyne’s book is set to be one of the greatest of our age, and adding the emotional connection of being a student of GMU, I knew I had to be at the event. Once we (Astrid, Ian, Bret, Triya, Rossy and I) arrived and joined other GMU students at the IAS. The environment was like being at home. GMU was well represented on that event and yet we met other interesting individuals.

In the fall of 2007 my friend Ian Dunois (you can find him on his blog Searching for Truth ) and I (Jaime Artieda) began a study-discussion-reading group at George Mason University (GMU). Ian and I argued for a while about what we should call our group. Different names came to our minds, but when we came up with Austrian Knights, we knew that was the right choice. The name Austrian comes from the understanding of Austrian Economics. In the spring of 2007 Dunois and I took a class at GMU called ECON 403 with Professor Geoffrey Lea . I must say that ECON 403 it was a changing experience in my life. The concepts of praxeology, apriorism, subjectivism, and economics all blended, got into my mind creating an exciting curiosity for it. In the summer of 2007 I attended a summer seminar on Austrian Economics at the Foundation for Economic Education ( FEE ). Following that seminar, Dunois and I attended the seminar on the same subject at the Ludwig von Mises Institute . Professor Lea referred

The history behind the Austrian School of Economic Thought (known as Austrian Economics) is one of the most interesting stories to tell. Some of you may have never heard about this school. However, Austrian Economics has been part of the academia and our lives for over seven centuries. In this post I will do my best in telling the origin, development, and present of this school; from St. Thomas Aquinas teachings all the way to the influence of Ludwig von Mises. The setting of the Pre-Austrian movement during the 15 th century St. Thomas Aquinas thought at Salamanca University , Spain . His teachings and writings promoted social organization and the understanding of human action. Aquinas’ followers practiced his teachings and believed in the economic law of supply and demand. Furthermore, his disciples understood the importance of cause and effect (Causation), and the subjectivism of economic value. Aquinas’ believes were kept during time his supporters trusted the importan