“The Socratic maxim that the recognition of our ignorance is the beginning of wisdom has profound significance for our understanding of society.” (Friedrich Hayek)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 21, 2026
Friedrich Hayek never understood profit and, by logical consequence, how the economic system works. ⇓ This is… pic.twitter.com/oOuK8Iyj7y
August 21, 2026
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLXIII)
August 20, 2026
Occasional X: The futile attempt to recycle Austrianism (CXXIII)
“Time preference is the foundation upon which every interest rate, every business decision, and every act of saving rests. Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk formalized this insight in 1884 in Capital and Interest, and free market economists have built on it ever since. The core idea is…
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 20, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Distribution, Inequality (XXII)
“No, Productivity Does Not Explain Income. The marginal productivity theory of income distribution was born a little over a century ago. Its principle creator, John Bates Clark, was explicit that his theory was about ideology and not science.” (Blair Fix)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 20, 2026
The foundational…
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Money (CXLXII)
“If prices are rising, look at supply and demand, and ask what’s disrupting them.” (Foundations for Economic Education)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 20, 2026
Economic education is in dire straits because economics is failed/fake science.
The main economic slogan says that price depends on supply and demand. It is…
August 19, 2026
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLXII)
“If you’re studying economics and they’re not teaching Thomas Sowell, you’re not getting an education. You’re getting an indoctrination.” (Charlie Kirk)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 19, 2026
Economics has been failed/fake science since the founding fathers. It has defined itself as a social science and accordingly…
Occasional X: The futile attempt to recycle Austrianism (CXXII)
“The entire edifice of modern economic policy rests on a lie: that a group of planners can manage an economy better than the people living in it.” (Handre)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 19, 2026
Modern economics rests on the premise that if all individuals do constrained optimization, this will result in the optimum…
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLXI)
“It looks paradoxical. But that’s how it should be, as Adam Smith knew, John Stuart Mill knew, Karl Polanyi knew.” (Kaushik Basu)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 19, 2026
No. That's not how it should be. Kaushik Basu does not understand what science is all about. He has totally overlooked that as a scientist, the… pic.twitter.com/hz6oZaiO3L
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Profit (CLXII)
“Every economic phenomenon in the long run diffuses its effects among the consumers, i.e., all mankind.” (Frédéric Bastiat)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 19, 2026
Not true. There are two types of consumers: WeThePeople and WeTheOligarchy. “All mankind” is a fiction that benefits WeTheOligarchy.
Frédéric Bastiat… pic.twitter.com/QaCu2XKeyE
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXXVII)
“My conclusion is therefore that economics is just a discipline with major problems, the same as the rest of the humanities and social sciences.” (Joseph Francis)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 19, 2026
The History of Economic Thought is the history of scientific failure.
Economics has been failed/fake science since…
August 18, 2026
Occasional X: How it works (DVI)
“Jane Street pays a 23 year old $900,000 a year for one skill: take a stream of future payments and price it today. that is all an asset is, and it is why owners compound while savers stand still. … an asset is not a thing. it is a claim on money that has not arrived yet.”…
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 18, 2026
Occasional X: How it works (DV)
“When you understand what the national debt actually is, you realize the real danger isn't what happens when it gets too big, but what happens when it begins to shrink. You'd think after being wrong for 238 years mainstream macro would try a new theory.” (Douglas Padgett)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 18, 2026
Here…
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Profit (CLXI)
“It is not Marx who came up with the theory of the rate of profit, though his theory is much different than Smith’s, who was different than Ricardo’s. Smith argued that an increase in 'stock' would cause a rise in capital intensity, which would further the division of labour,…
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 18, 2026
August 17, 2026
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLX)
“Friedman’s methodology essay is one of those rare papers which is simply referred to by its year of publication: F-53. It is notorious for its supposed anti-realism and the claim that the realism of one’s assumptions does not matter. As long as the model predicts well, anything… pic.twitter.com/e3M5FdlP1l
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 17, 2026
Occasional X: How it works (DIV)
“There are only four ways to make money. Labor. Capital. Arbitrage. Insurance.” (Rendex)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 17, 2026
Rendex forgot the most important way: deception/ fraud.
There are two kinds of profit: (i) profit from the production/consumption cycle Qm, and (ii) profit from value changes Qn. The point… pic.twitter.com/gywUTinYwG
Occasional X: How it works (DIII)
“Marx explained the basic contradiction over 150 years ago. Competition compels each capitalist to raise productivity and cheapen commodities because doing so increases relative surplus-value and gives them an advantage over competitors.” (Dohaciel Ygzgzot)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 17, 2026
This is the problem… pic.twitter.com/pRePIrVMRd
August 16, 2026
Occasional X: The futile attempt to recycle Austrianism (CXXI)
“Ludwig von Mises rebuilt economics from the foundation up, and a comparison to Einstein is not flattery: …” (Handre)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 16, 2026
Every comparison of economics with physics is an unforgivable insult to physics. Physics is science; economics is cargo cult science. ⇓
Austrians in general,… pic.twitter.com/idNYAHThKG
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLIX)
“'workers produce all the value, capitalists just own' is the labor theory of value. it's wrong. marx knew it was wrong. the entire economics profession knew it was wrong by 1871. value isn't determined by how much labor went into something. it's determined by how much someone…
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 16, 2026
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLVIII)
“It is often in these dispersed observations made in his letters that we can better appreciate Ricardo, the man and the fundamental decency and gentleness of his character, and Ricardo, not only as one of the founders of political economy, but a deep thinker about the limits of…
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 16, 2026
Occasional X: There is an absolute limit to the growth of public debt (VI)
“Almost there ... $40 trillion. 42% of all income taxes collected goes to paying interest on the US National Debt. US govt debt growing at $2.1 trillion per year. Most and more of the US govt budget is being swallowed by interest payments.” (Wall Street Mav)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 16, 2026
The debt debate…
August 15, 2026
Occasional X: The history of economic thought is the history of scientific failure (XLVI)
“This SEP entry on Capitalism is garbage. I would recommend a full, clean reboot.” (Otto Letho)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 15, 2026
The History of Economic Thought is the history of scientific failure.
Friedrich Hayek never understood profit and, by logical consequence, how the economic system works. This is… pic.twitter.com/lBv5n6DXWw
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXXVI)
“The answer to the water-diamond paradox falsified Marx’s assumption that value is derived from labor. Adam Smith in 1776 couldn’t answer why diamonds cost a bundle whereas water costs almost nothing in comparison although it’s necessary for survival. Carl Menger figured out that… pic.twitter.com/Febjk7TCYX
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 15, 2026
August 14, 2026
Occasional X: The futile attempt to recycle Marx (LX)
“People are blowing this out of proportion because some economists got upset bc Marx, who is legitimately one of the greatest thinkers on capitalism, gets his proper place in the history of economics.” (Joshua)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 14, 2026
The crucial point with Marx/ Socialism/ Communism/ Capitalism is…
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXXV)
“A lot of negative comments by fellow economists on this interesting and engaging discussion of the topic of capitalism, …” (Matias Vernengo)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 14, 2026
The History of Economic Thought is the history of scientific failure.
Economics has been failed/fake science since the founding…
August 13, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXXIV)
“According to this account, the two necessary conditions for capitalism are the free market and private property. Arguably, Milton Friedman's (1962) and Friedrich Hayek's (1944) distinctive variants of this approach have been the most influential. For capitalism to exist, there…
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 13, 2026
Occasional X: The history of economic thought is the history of scientific failure (XLV)
The History of Economic Thought is the history of scientific failure.
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 13, 2026
Economics has been failed/fake science since the founding fathers. It has defined itself as a social science and accordingly has been based on subjective/behavioral assumptions/axioms. This is the… pic.twitter.com/siio7WsVM6
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Breakdown (XXVIII)
“Interest on the national debt will surpass $1.3 trillion this fiscal year; if Congress doesn't get its act together and cut spending, the bond vigilantes will eventually force that change; w/ $40 trillion in debt, it may come sooner than you think... Interest on the debt was a…
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 13, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Distribution, Inequality (XXI)
“NEW: income inequality in US & UK is so wide that while the richest are very well off, the poorest have a worse standard of living than the poorest in countries like Slovenia. Essentially, US & UK are poor societies with some very rich people.” (John Burn-Murdoch)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 13, 2026
The…
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLVII)
“My new Conversation with Daron Acemoglu, most of all about his new book on liberalism, …” (Tyler Cowen)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 13, 2026
Neither Daron Acemoglu nor Tyler Cowen ever understood profit and, consequently, how the economic system works. Their conversation is the usual political disinfotainment.… pic.twitter.com/jEr2cq1WrX
August 12, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Profit (CLX)
“The Marxian definition is the most parsimonious: a social-economic structure in which production (& hence human activity) is decided by the expansion of value in monetary form.” (bevelymantle)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 12, 2026
The crucial point with Marx/Socialism/Communism/Capitalism is whether Marx understood…
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Profit (CLIX)
“Javier Milei names his favorite economists Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich von Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, Gary Becker, Milton Friedman, etc.” (Hayek Quotes)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 12, 2026
Murray Rothbard never understood profit. Consequently, he never understood how the economic system works. The… pic.twitter.com/sCcXwS0MnX
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXXIII)
“Three years in the making, and it’s finally out!” (Chiara Cordelli)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 12, 2026
The History of Economic Thought is the history of scientific failure.
Economics has been failed/fake science since the founding fathers. It has defined itself as a social science and accordingly has been based…
Occasional X: Scrap the EconNobel (XLXVIII)
Prizes are often not based on true merit. Like the Oscar, they are mainly a marketing/PR instrument. Honoring the look-alike happens in all walks of life. Most economics prizes are a reward for political disinfotainment.
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 12, 2026
Although it claims to be a science, economics is not one.… pic.twitter.com/PKzk1CA5ih
Occasional X: How it works (DII)
“The 2008 financial crisis did not appear out of nowhere. It was manufactured, step by step, by the Federal Reserve, Congress, and a constellation of Wall Street banks who all correctly understood that the government would socialize their losses.” (Handre)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 12, 2026
Handre never…
August 11, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Employment (XXXVII)
“Hayek and Keynes are remembered as fierce intellectual rivals. What’s less known is that the two were actually friends who held each other in high regard.” (Hayek Quotes)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 11, 2026
Neither Hayek nor Keynes got employment theory right. Scientific incompetence was what they had in common.… pic.twitter.com/YYG7YLRhKx
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXXII)
“The Republic, written around 380 BC, describes a city where philosopher-kings govern by virtue of superior wisdom, where private property disappears for the guardian class, where poets get expelled for corrupting the young, and where eugenicists manage reproduction.” (Handre)… pic.twitter.com/ZHGyHTmZHP
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 10, 2026
August 10, 2026
Occasional X: The futile attempt to recycle Austrianism (CXX)
“The biggest take away from Austrian economics is that the entire economy is made up of millions of small decisions by millions of humans minute by minute.” (Handre)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 10, 2026
And the Austrians discovered that? WOW! That would be awesome if it weren't so trivial!
Of course, systemic… pic.twitter.com/CDbX1VEhnO
Occasional X: The futile attempt to recycle Austrianism (CXIX)
“Murray Rothbard sat down and wrote Man, Economy, and State in 1962, and produced what remains the most rigorous reconstruction of economic theory from first principles ever attempted by a single human mind. You should treat this book the way physicists treat Newton's Principia:… pic.twitter.com/ZKOJWJewyN
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 10, 2026
August 9, 2026
Occasional X: How it works (DI)
“Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk sat in Vienna in 1884 and published Capital and Interest, and in doing so dismantled every socialist theory of exploitation that Karl Marx spent decades constructing. His weapon was time preference. You value a dollar today more than a dollar next year.… pic.twitter.com/NnXyjdekOS
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 9, 2026
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLVI)
“We must look at the price system as such a mechanism for communicating information if we want to understand its real function.” (Friedrich Hayek, quoted by Foundations for Economic Education)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 9, 2026
Don't look at the price system; that's Hayek's misdirection or communicative magic.…
Correction: “This core magic technique is called misdirection ..." is from the Google AI prompt.
August 8, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Profit (CLVIII)
“IN THIS HOUSE, WE DERIVE: THE INVISIBLE HAND THEOREM FROM THE RATIONAL CHOICE POSTULATE VIA INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS THAT'S THE MAINLINE OF ECONOMICS FROM ADAM SMITH TO VERNON SMITH.” (Nathan Goodman, quoted by Peter Boettke)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 8, 2026
The mainline has always been false.
The founding… pic.twitter.com/qtfQTU0Ghd
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Money (CXLXI)
“The characteristic which has been traditionally supposed to render gold especially suitable for use as the standard of value, namely, its inelasticity of supply, turns out to be precisely the characteristic which is at the bottom of the trouble.” (J. M. Keynes, quoted by… pic.twitter.com/ecaeRq7A3M
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 8, 2026
August 7, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Money (CXLX)
“Mises argued that inflation is the increase in the money supply, not the resulting rise in consumer prices.” (Christina Pushaw)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 7, 2026
von Mises's monetary theory is provably false.
For the axiomatically correct approach, see the working paper ⇒
The Dark-Matter Theory of Fiat Money…
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLV)
“Milton Friedman on 4 ways to spend money:
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 7, 2026
1) Your money on yourself (you’re careful about both cost and quality)
2) Your money on others (you care about cost, less about quality)
3) Someone else’s money on yourself (you care about quality, not cost)
4) Someone else’s money on…
Occasional X: How it works (D)
“Capitalism is very good at producing wealth. What it is not particularly good at is making sure that wealth, productive capacity, and human needs actually line up. That was one of the lessons Keynes took from the Great Depression. …The conventional answer was that markets would… pic.twitter.com/LrAe3wZ6Fv
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 7, 2026
August 6, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXXI)
“The market is essentially an ordering mechanism, growing up without anybody wholly understanding it, that enables us to utilize widely dispersed information about the significance of circumstances of which we are mostly ignorant.” (quoted by Hayek Quotes)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 6, 2026
Friedrich Hayek never… pic.twitter.com/37QznhOuMk
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLIV)
“Economics as tool for the curious and compassionate.” (Peter Boettke)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 6, 2026
“Economics as tool for the stupid and corrupt.” (AXEC)
The founding fathers defined economics as a social science, and, accordingly, it has been based on subjective/behavioral assumptions/axioms. This has…
August 5, 2026
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLIII)
“In terms of research, he made major contributions in multiple fields of economics. And, outside academia, he has arguably been the most influential economist of the past 60 years — and not just in the United States. Selling policy advice based on economic theory... We could use… pic.twitter.com/W72J5m2KQ6
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 5, 2026
Occasional X: How it works (CDXCIX)
“The first and most important equation in the world of money looks like this:
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 5, 2026
FV = PV × (1 + r)^n
That is it. Five symbols. Let me translate them into human.
FV = future value. What your money will be worth later.
PV = present value. What you have now.
r = rate of return per… pic.twitter.com/q7EJR3IjUc
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXX)
“I think one thing Marxists would take good care to note is that Marx’s critique of political economy was primarily targeted towards the classicals, … but the Ecomomic Sciences has long moved on the Classicals.” (Nikolai Rostov)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 5, 2026
Actually, this is irrelevant. What Marx wanted…
August 4, 2026
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLII)
“Much of what is said about economics is little better than gaslighting....” (Richard Murphy)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 4, 2026
The founding fathers defined economics as a social science, and accordingly, it has been based on subjective/behavioral assumptions/axioms. This has been the methodological ur-mistake.… pic.twitter.com/HrCFYkAEX8
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXIX)
“Ricardo begins with the simplest case: the commodities are produced by one type of labor alone, working perhaps on free land (I, 12 ff.) In this simplest case the relative values of commodities will clearly equal the relative quantities of labor necessary to produce them, and… pic.twitter.com/UWrvJdMR6x
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 4, 2026
For more on Ricardo, see the AXECblog.
August 3, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXVIII)
“The beauty of Austrian economics is that it springs from real human action and does not depend upon the construction of abstract mathematical models meant to parallel reality.” (James Anthony)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 3, 2026
Austrianism is a cargo cult science, and Austrians are look-alike scientists. How do…
Occasional X: The futile attempt to recycle Austrianism (CXVIII)
“Let me offer a sensible middle ground between rigid empiricism (inductivism) and Praxeology, which is rigid deductivism.” (Nikolai Rostov)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 3, 2026
No, there is no middle ground between true and false. Austrianism is provably false. If Austrianism were to disappear overnight, this would… pic.twitter.com/b4REJ72Bze
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Value (II)
“In 1871, Menger published his groundbreaking Principles of Economics, arguing that the value of a good is not determined by the labour required to produce it, but by the subjective importance individuals place on it. Value is not objective or embodied in objects. It is marginal… pic.twitter.com/mRXVWf9BjI
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 3, 2026
August 2, 2026
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXVII)
“Among the great economists of the Austrian School, Javier Milei is achieving something that seemed reserved for the dreams of a few idealists: uniting theory and practice on an unprecedented scale.” (Diego Angulo)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 2, 2026
Austrianism is failed/fake science. Therefore, it's the usual… pic.twitter.com/ulwr8kdQiy
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Science (CCCLXVI)
“Economics is, as Knight, Mises, Hayek and Buchanan taught, is a science, just a unique science dealing with human action and social relations.” (Peter Boettke)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 2, 2026
When economists are told that economics does not satisfy the scientific standards of material and formal consistency,… pic.twitter.com/XBzOtXaPV6
For more about J. S. Mill, see AXECquery.
Occasional X: The futile attempt to recycle Austrianism (CXVII)
“As Ludwig von Mises showed, economics is the study of human behaviour. And the tools of economics can explain far more than markets, prices and production - they can illuminate almost every aspect of human behaviour.” (Creative Deduction)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 2, 2026
No, economics is not 'the study of… pic.twitter.com/bExzWDLwM2
Occasional X: AI — boosting scientific competence in economics (XV) / Axiomatization
“AI is solving some of mathematics hardest long-running open problems (impressive indeed). Can it also solve some of the hardest open problems in economics?” (Atif Mian, quoted by Potus Rendahl)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 2, 2026
No. This has already been tried, but AI is trained on the old stuff and cannot… pic.twitter.com/W8i6MTXMmi
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXLI)
“Milton Friedman gets a lot of cheap shots thrown at him, but he is the best communicator of economic ideas I have ever encountered.” (Peter Boettke)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 2, 2026
After a lot of cheap shots, Milton Friedman got the refutation bullet right through his head.
Milton Friedman never understood… pic.twitter.com/pWyRa2BA6a
Occasional X: Clueless economists / Equilibrium (IV)
“My last update for my general proof/summary of general equilibrium.” (Nikolai Rostov)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 2, 2026
Learn to read and think. Equilibrium is long gone.
For details, see
Forget equilibriumhttps://t.co/EUMjE0oyEM
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXL)
“Upon rereading the works of Lord Keynes I can see his knack and aspirations for genuine innovation (in the economic sciences) but his language is extremely tortured, and oftentimes he falls to tautology.” (Nikolai Rostov)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 2, 2026
Keynes, too, misunderstood the concept of profit because… pic.twitter.com/eHc1eDPxYG
Occasional X: The foul spirit of political economics (CCCXXXIX)
“that moment as a kid when you realize that you're definitely an austrian” (Robert Murphy)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 2, 2026
No competent scientist can ever become an Austrian. Robert Murphy never understood profit, and by logical consequence, how the economic system works. This is self-disqualifying and… pic.twitter.com/8jb8V2Q8uz
August 1, 2026
Occasional X: Economists’ eternal problem with methodology (XV)
“I prefer true but imperfect knowledge, even if it leaves much indetermined and unpredictable, to a pretence of exact knowledge that is likely to be false.” (Friedrich Hayek)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 1, 2026
This is one of the most revealing propositions in the field of methodology. It immediately proves that…
Occasional X: How it works (CDXCVIII)
“Argentina's Milei Borrows Warren Buffett's Idea To Punish Deficit-Spending Politicians.” (zerohedge)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 1, 2026
Javier Milei never understood profit, and by logical consequence, how the economic system works. He bases his policies on Austrian economics. Austrianism has always been…
Occasional X: How it works (CDXCVII)
“Nobody will dare to stop inflation because to discontinue inflation will inevitably cause extensive unemployment. So assuming inflation stops it will quickly be resumed.” (Friedrich Hayek)
— AXEC (@EgmontHandtke) August 1, 2026
That's wrong. Friedrich Hayek never understood profit and, by logical consequence, how… pic.twitter.com/x8MXqOC0EX
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