Fundamentals of Austrian Economics Part A

Fundamentals of Austrian Economics. Part A

Discover the foundations of one of the most rigorous and insightful traditions in economic thought.

Fundamentals of Austrian Economics – Part A introduces you to the core ideas that make the Austrian School unique: purposeful human action, methodological individualism, subjective value, marginal utility, time preference, and the central role of entrepreneurship and uncertainty.

Through clear, accessible explanations, this module shows how real economic life begins with individual choices—not aggregates—and how markets coordinate human action far better than any central plan.

This crash course is perfect for students, professionals, and independent thinkers who want to understand economics from the ground up.

Begin your journey into Austrian Economics and learn how human action shapes the real world of markets.

Course Outline

Unit 1 — What Makes the Austrian School Unique?

• Why the Austrian tradition stands apart from mainstream economics

• The long intellectual heritage of the school

• The focus on real human beings rather than statistical abstractions

• The central role of capital, entrepreneurship, and freedom in economic analysis

Outcome: Students understand the philosophical and conceptual foundations that distinguish Austrian economics from conventional macroeconomics.

Unit 2 — Historical Roots and Key Thinkers

• Carl Menger’s revolutionary theory of value

• Böhm-Bawerk on capital and time

• Mises and the science of human action

• Hayek on knowledge, markets, and spontaneous order

Outcome: Students gain familiarity with the major contributors and how their ideas form a coherent tradition.

Unit 3 — Human Action: The Starting Point of All Economics

• Action as purposeful behavior

• Choice of goals and means

• Resources, scarcity, and decision-making

• Why humans are not stimulus-response machines

Outcome: Students learn why praxeology provides a superior foundation for understanding economic behavior.

Unit 4 — Methodological Individualism

• Why social phenomena must be explained through individual choices

• The dangers of relying on aggregates such as “national income,” “society,” or “the economy”

• How micro-level decisions shape macro-level outcomes

Outcome: Students see how economic causality flows from individuals upward—not from abstract categories downward.

Unit 5 — Value, Exchange, and Subjective Preference

• Value as subjective and personal

• How different valuations make exchange possible

• Why voluntary exchange makes both parties better off

• The logic of “unequal but mutually beneficial” trades

Outcome: Students understand the subjective basis of economic value and the foundations of market exchange.

Unit 6 — Marginal Utility and Decision-Making

• Diminishing marginal utility explained

• How individuals weigh marginal benefits and marginal costs

• Opportunity costs and their role in every economic choice

Outcome: Students learn how real people make decisions at the margin, shaping all economic outcomes.

Unit 7 — Time Preference and the Interest Rate

• Why humans prefer present satisfaction over future satisfaction

• How time preference determines savings and investment

• Why the interest rate reflects intertemporal exchange

• The role of time in economic development

Outcome: Students grasp one of the most fundamental Austrian concepts: time preference and its role in coordinating production across time.

Unit 8 — Uncertainty, Error, and the Market vs. the State

• Why uncertainty is inherent in all human action

• The market as a continuous discovery and correction process

• Why error is essential for progress

• Why the state, by definition, cannot correct itself in the same way

Outcome: Students appreciate why markets adapt while state systems stagnate.

Unit 9 — Why Learn Austrian Economics?

• How these principles illuminate real-world economic issues

• Why the Austrian approach remains relevant

Outcome: Students are motivated to continue their learning journey and deepen their understanding of Austrian Economics.

• Invitation to continue with Part B, complete the full course, and obtain your "Certificate of Participation" from the International Mises Academy (IMA)