Tom: I was as pleasantly stunned as you in seeing a crowd of 10,000 people loudly cheering the Austrian theory of the business cycle. I was reminded of a debate I heard, in 1972, between Murray Rothbard and Harold Demsetz. Murray was emphasizing the importance of incorporating emotional/spiritual/philosophical concerns into the discussion of economics; of moving beyond just the linear, mechanistic dimensions to which most economists restrict themselves. Murray summed up his point by saying: “Harold, the kids are not going to go to the barricades in defense of lowered transaction costs.” From the crowd response to your words, I guess Murray was wrong.

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