Mises: What we call inflation is not merely a market phenomenon, but a manifestation of deliberate human actions

Neoclassical and Keynesian models emphasize macroeconomic factors while ignoring the purposeful actions of individuals.

Ludwig von Mises’s Human Action establishes economics as the study of purposeful behavior.

Austrian economists, despite their praxeological commitment to human action, often remain tethered to market-based terms like “price inflation” or “monetary expansion”.

As individuals experience the effects of inflation, they perceive economic interactions as increasingly unfair, fostering skepticism toward money’s reliability.

This erosion of confidence prompts defensive behaviors that fragment communal cooperation, weakening the social fabric essential for sustained economic and interpersonal harmony.

Unaware of how the game is rigged, people turn to notions of “fairness” and “shared outcomes”.