The Ubiquity of Economic Phenomena MAY 30, 2012 by SHELDON
RICHMAN Libertarianism and one of its pillars, free-market
economics, get an unfair rap for their alleged preoccupation
with the pursuit of wealth. It’s unfair because, while wealth
and economic growth are important, the philosophy is about much
more: human flourishing through freedom and its natural product,
social cooperation. One source of confusion is the undoubted
libertarian interest in economics. Unfortunately, economics is
commonly understood to be narrowly concerned with the pursuit of
material goods. Mainstream economics encourages this belief. Too
bad. This misconception may be traced to the classical
economists, who otherwise made important contributions to the
discipline. In The Economic Point of View, Israel Kirzner notes
that “this ‘material’ approach to economics . . . seems to have
held a fascination for a number of economists over an extended
period of time, viz., the view that saw economics as essentially
concerned with the goods ne