“Mainstream economists” are the ones who endorsed the government interventions of the past 100 years. LOL.
It is true, in my view, that there are some people holding on to wacky, even kooky ideas in far extreme left - and right "groups." However, that alone does not discount the basis for much of the core of Austrian economic theory.
"Mainstream" (meaning neo-Keynesian) economic thinking has provided the basis for banks, central banks, governments and politicians to:
- allow dangerously high and growing levels of leverage in the banking system
- permit governments to spend much more than they take in ("for the people"), take on much more debt than they can repay,
- permit politicians to promise more and more benefits at greater and greater costs to current voters at the expense of future generations
- permit banks and central banks to buy more and more of the debt issued by the governments which enable them to do so,
- permit financial institutions to show assets on their books at much higher than real levels of value than they are worth - for the purpose of creating the illusion that the banks are solvent - when they are in reality insolvent
- permit the banks and central banks to continue to lend more and more money into existence - just to keep the Ponzi going...
Keynesians - including the governments, politicians, bankers, public employee unions, Wall Streeters and others who benefit by the convenient illusions advanced by their financial theories, fail to recognize, acknowledge and address that a MAJOR cause of the western world's economic problems is excessive debt at many levels: governmental, business, financial system, and personal debt. High debt - and the policies which have permitted and created this debt, are the CAUSE of the problem.
Keynesian's solution to this problem? MORE DEBT; alleging that more debt will produce growth which can extinguish the debt in the future. Problem is, that the debt the world has now can't be serviced, and we're just worsening the situation with more debt, more government spending, more promises of future spending. Let's give the (money) addict more cocaine in higher doses to cure him of his addiction.
I don't think so. A long view of history proves that currencies which can be devalued at will ALWAYS die - and generally for similar reasons.
We are coming up on 100 years that the Federal Reserve has been in existence. And, a dollar from 1913 is now worth somewhere between 2 and 3 cents of what a dollar was in 1913.
"Mainstream" economists, governments, financial institutions (etc.) just have a stake in maintaining the status quo and achieving their personal aims for their benefit. To hell with savers, basic investors and others whose savings and investments will continue to be repressed for the benefit of those driving the "mainstream." Austrian theory points out what is going on, but the mainstream prefers to just attack and belittle those who see - through the Austrian lense - what is happening.