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Israel Kirzner on Coordination and Discovery

Author

Listed:
  • Klein, Daniel B.

    (George Mason University)

  • Briggeman, Jason

    (George Mason University)

Abstract

Israel Kirzner has been one of the leaders in fashioning an Austrian school of economics. In his rendering of the Austrian school, one finds a marriage between Friedrich Hayek’s discourse with Ludwig von Mises’s deductive, praxeological image of science — a marriage that seems to us somewhat forced. The Misesian image of science stakes its claims to scientific status on purported axioms and categorical, 100-percent deductive truths, as well as the supposed avoidance of any looseness in evaluative judgments. In keeping with the praxeological style of discourse, Kirzner claims that his notion of coordination can be used as a clear-cut criterion of economic goodness. Kirzner wishes to claim that gainful entrepreneurial action in the market is always coordinative. We contend that Kirzner’s efforts to be categorical and to avoid looseness are unsuccessful. We argue that looseness inheres in the economic discussion of the most important things, and associate that viewpoint with Adam Smith. We suggest that Hayek is much closer to Smith than to Mises, and that Kirzner’s invocations of Hayek’s discussions of coordination are spurious. In denying looseness and trying to cope with the brittleness of categorical claims, Kirzner becomes abstruse. His discourse erupts with problems. Kirzner has erred in rejecting the understanding of coordination held by Hayek, Ronald Coase, and their contemporaries in the field at large. Kirzner’s refraining from the looser Smithian perspective stems from his devotion to Misesianism. Beyond all the criticism, however, we affirm the basic thrust of what Kirzner says about economic processes. Once we give up the claim that voluntary profitable activity is always or necessarily coordinative, and once we make peace with the aesthetic aspect of the idea of concatenate coordination, the basic claims of Kirzner can be salvaged: Voluntary profitable activity is usually coordinative, and government intervention is usually discoordinative. But the Misesian image of science must be dropped.

Suggested Citation

  • Klein, Daniel B. & Briggeman, Jason, 2008. "Israel Kirzner on Coordination and Discovery," Ratio Working Papers 127, The Ratio Institute.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0127
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    Cited by:

    1. Klein, Daniel & Orsborn, Aaron, 2009. "Concatenate coordination and mutual coordination," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 176-187, October.
    2. Israel M. Kirzner, 2010. "The Meaning of "Economic Goodness": Critical comments on Klein and Briggeman," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 25(Spring 20), pages 55-85.
    3. Gene Callahan, 2010. "A Comment on Klein/Briggeman and Kirzner," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 25(Spring 20), pages 105-115.
    4. John A. Tures, 2017. "Not ‘taken’ for granted: Can freedom curb human trafficking," Journal of Economic and Financial Studies (JEFS), LAR Center Press, vol. 5(1), pages 23-29, February.
    5. Henry Manne, 2014. "Resurrecting the ghostly entrepreneur," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 27(3), pages 249-258, September.
    6. Harper, David A., 2013. "Property rights, entrepreneurship and coordination," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 62-77.
    7. Steven Horwitz, 2010. "Kirznerian Entrepreneurship as a Misesian Solution to a Hayekian Problem," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 25(Spring 20), pages 97-103.
    8. Klein, Daniel, 2009. "Unfolding the Allegory behind Market Communication and Social Error and Correction," Ratio Working Papers 133, The Ratio Institute, revised 17 Feb 2010.
    9. Martin Ricketts, 2010. "Israel Kirzner on Coordination and Discovery: A Comment," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 25(Spring 20), pages 129-143.
    10. Peter J. Boettke & Daniel J. D'Amico, 2010. "Corridors, Coordination, and the Entrepreneurial Theory of the Market Process," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 25(Spring 20), pages 87-96.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    coordination; concatenation; discovery; entrepreneurship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A10 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - General
    • B00 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - General - - - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact

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