'..the Austrian theoretical analysis showed a priori that socialism could not work, since it rests on an intellectual error, and that socialism would necessarily cause all sorts of social maladjustments and distortions, it is a terrible tragedy that millions of people had to endure so many years of unspeakable suffering to demonstrate historically something which from the beginning, the theoretical contributions of the Austrian school indicated would inevitably occur. Particular responsibility for this human suffering belongs not only to most members of the scientific community itself, who negligently overlooked and even fraudulently concealed the content of the Austrian analysis of socialism, but also to a clumsy and antiquated, though still predominant, positivism, according to which, experience alone, regardless of any theory, would be capable of revealing the survival possibilities of any social system .. the near entirety of the social science community betrayed humanity, as its members failed, at the very least, to fulfill their vital scientific duty to notify and warn citizens about the dangers which derive from the socialist ideal.''..the fall of socialism in Eastern bloc countries must indeed be viewed as a great scientific triumph and an illustration, without precedent in the history of social science, of the theoretical analysis of socialism which members of the Austrian school of economics have been developing since the 1920s. Nevertheless, now that we have pointed out the credit which the above historical events brought to the arguments of Ludwig von Mises and the satisfaction they offered Hayek, the other Austrian economists, and few others, we must add that because the Austrian theoretical analysis showed
a priori that socialism could not work, since it rests on an intellectual error, and that socialism would necessarily cause all sorts of social maladjustments and distortions, it is a terrible tragedy that millions of people had to endure so many years of unspeakable suffering to demonstrate historically something which from the beginning, the theoretical contributions of the Austrian school indicated would inevitably occur. Particular responsibility for this human suffering belongs not only to most members of the scientific community itself, who negligently overlooked and even fraudulently
concealed the content of the Austrian analysis of socialism, but also to a clumsy and antiquated, though still predominant, positivism, according to which, experience
alone, regardless of any theory, would be capable of revealing the survival possibilities of any social system.
64 With the glorious exception of Mises, Hayek, the rest of their school, and few others, the near entirety of the social science community betrayed humanity, as its members failed, at the very least, to fulfill their vital scientific duty to notify and warn citizens about the dangers which derive from the socialist ideal. Therefore, it is essential that we make a very healthy and educational
acknowledgement of scientific accountability, which, before the citizenry and in view of the future of the history of economic thought, situates each theorist in his rightful place, regardless of the fame, name, or popularity he may have acquired at other times and in other contexts.
Some words of caution are necessary regarding our comments on the historical interpretation of socialist experiences. This is because, unlike many “positivist” theorists,
we do not assume or believe empirical evidence alone suffices to confirm or refute a scientific theory in the field of economics.'
64 For example, this clumsy “positivist scientism” amounts to an obsession and pervades the American educational system and academic world in general, and all contributions of the Chicago school, in particular, including those of one of its most prominent members, George Stigler, who feels that both parties to the debate failed to perceive the “empirical” consequences of their respective positions and that only “empirical evidence” can resolve the existing differences between the defenders of capitalism and socialism. (The Citizen and the State [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975], 1-13.) See the excellent criticism of Stigler’s position Norman P. Barry voices in his “The Economics and Philosophy of Socialism,” Il Politico (University of Pavia) year 49, no. 4 (1984): 573-592.- Jesús Huerta de Soto,
Socialism, Economic Calculation and Entrepreneurship, page(s) 309, 310
Context Banking Reform(Thymology - Haptopraxeology) - '..entrepreneurship .. actions he will carry out and estimates the future effect of those actions..'Property rights - Civil Liberties - The Criminal N.S.A. (The New York Times)(Mind-Body Medicine) - '..the health of our minds and the health of our bodies are inextricably connected to the transformation of the spirit.'