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Date: | Fri Mar 31 17:19:22 2006 |
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In answer to John Womack's query, "Weren't Von Neumann and Morgenstern
"Austrians"?:
Morgenstern was something of a maverick among the Austrians, inclined to
methodological inquiry of the Austrian variety but also more open to the use
of mathematics in economics than Mises, Hayek and Co., thanks to the
influence of Karl Menger and Wald, amongst others.
As for von Neumann, while some have tried to claim him for Classical
economics, and others for Neoclassical, he certainly wasn't an Austrian. He
was sui generis, if you ask me.
Re. Kevin Quinn's point about individualism and norms, it's worth mentioning
that social norms (independent of individual rationality) were central to
von Neumann's game theory. They were what helped distinguish various
equilibria in his stable set solution. The "social" played a greater role
in von N's game theory than I think most people realize.
Robert Leonard
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