&gt; Austrian <i>instincts</i> are partly about [...]<p>Am I the only one who finds the word &quot;instincts&quot; used in this context deeply disturbing? We&#x27;ve got many well-intentioned people in history who acted according to their instincts and beliefs. Some of these invented and practiced eugenics, others tried to create an &quot;agrarian communist society&quot; while killing off some 2 million people in 4 years (I read about Khmer Rouge regime recently) and there are many, many more examples.<p>My question is: what is the difference between modern economics and, for example, eugenics? What protective mechanism have we created to make sure no economist attempts to make as all into farmers, killing off all the people who can read and write? Isn&#x27;t &quot;democracy&quot; alone a bit weak as a guarantee here?