I can see your point. However even in those examples each person was acting as an individual. If a majority make a certain choice it doesn't mean each person is not acting as an individual.

I think the main point is that economics cannot be based on equations like other sciences because of the complexity of individual action.

If you think about when masses of people made similar decisions, you can also trace back individual decisions that led to the masses making those decisions. One leader could make an individual decision that many people follow that completely flips a silly economic equation on its head.

Not sure if that helps or not. Just what came to mind thinking about it.

Austrian economics does not teach that people act in ways that *will* achieve their desired end, but in ways that they *percieve* will achieve their desired ends. That leaves room for correction regarding which means are best to achieve a chosen end--but either way, people act in order to achieve some chosen end--and that is rational, even if the chosen means is irrational.

Ok I’m going to give this a shot:

1st premise: our subconscious mind is 1million times more powerful than our conscious mind

2nd premise: we didn’t program our subconscious mind (unless we’ve done a LOT of meditation/hypnosis work later in life), our early caregivers or our framing limited inner child created our subconscious playlist

3rd premise: fear shuts down all conscious thought and all but physically essential subconscious programs

4th premise: Humans are herd animals

Ok so this is how I see it:

Most of us are sheeple and when we feel safe we are capable of conscious thought and action. The moment we see a wolf we will herd and if the herd zigs we zig, if the herd zags, we zag. Covid behaviour is a great example. Our ability to think is biologically impaired as part of our natural fear response.

Some of us have seen and survived REAL life or death situations and have grown stronger from this experience, we’ve learned to manage and/or mitigate our fear response appropriately to the perceived threat based on real evidence of the threat, we’ve learnt to look beyond the propaganda. We are the Triceratops. We see a wolf and shrug. Our ability to think clearly, stays intact during a crisis.

Some of us are wolves, we intentionally manipulate the sheeple for a free lunch. However wolves are also pack animals… and when a pack of wolves comes into conflict with a family of Triceratops, I wouldn’t want to be a wolf. This is where we are now.

Back to your original query, I agree the Austrians explain behaviour of the sheeple in ‘safe’ times and the triceratops all of the time.

But under the influence of fear sheeple’s behaviour is more predictable… they are not capable of rational thought and action under these conditions, only herd mentality/action.

The other issue is the sheeple and triceratops are potentially interchangeable depending upon the situational stimuli and this comes down to an individual’s level of self efficacy in the prescribed situation. Covid was far less likely to trigger fear in a healthy person who felt self efficacy around their health than any other person either sick or healthy.

I may have just confused you more but I hope this has made some sense.

Ok I’m going to give this a shot:

1st premise: our subconscious mind is 1million times more powerful than our conscious mind

2nd premise: we didn’t program our subconscious mind (unless we’ve done a LOT of meditation/hypnosis work later in life), our early caregivers or our framing limited inner child created our subconscious playlist

3rd premise: fear shuts down all conscious thought and all but physically essential subconscious programs

4th premise: Humans are herd animals

Ok so this is how I see it:

Most of us are sheeple and when we feel safe we are capable of conscious thought and action. The moment we see a wolf we will herd and if the herd zigs we zig, if the herd zags, we zag. Covid behaviour is a great example. Our ability to think is biologically impaired as part of our natural fear response.

Some of us have seen and survived REAL life or death situations and have grown stronger from this experience, we’ve learned to manage and/or mitigate our fear response appropriately to the perceived threat based on real evidence of the threat, we’ve learnt to look beyond the propaganda. We are the Triceratops. We see a wolf and shrug. Our ability to think clearly, stays intact during a crisis.

Some of us are wolves, we intentionally manipulate the sheeple for a free lunch. However wolves are also pack animals… and when a pack of wolves comes into conflict with a family of Triceratops, I wouldn’t want to be a wolf. This is where we are now.

Back to your original query, I agree the Austrians explain behaviour of the sheeple in ‘safe’ times and the triceratops all of the time.

But under the influence of fear sheeple’s behaviour is more predictable… they are not capable of rational thought and action under these conditions, only herd mentality/action.

The other issue is the sheeple and triceratops are potentially interchangeable depending upon the situational stimuli and this comes down to an individual’s level of self efficacy in the prescribed situation. Covid was far less likely to trigger fear in a healthy person who felt self efficacy around their health than any other person either sick or healthy.

I may have just confused you more but I hope this has made some sense.

Ok I’m going to give this a shot:

1st premise: our subconscious mind is 1million times more powerful than our conscious mind

2nd premise: we didn’t program our subconscious mind (unless we’ve done a LOT of meditation/hypnosis work later in life), our early caregivers or our framing limited inner child created our subconscious playlist

3rd premise: fear shuts down all conscious thought and all but physically essential subconscious programs

4th premise: Humans are herd animals

Ok so this is how I see it:

Most of us are sheeple and when we feel safe we are capable of conscious thought and action. The moment we see a wolf we will herd and if the herd zigs we zig, if the herd zags, we zag. Covid behaviour is a great example. Our ability to think is biologically impaired as part of our natural fear response.

Some of us have seen and survived REAL life or death situations and have grown stronger from this experience, we’ve learned to manage and/or mitigate our fear response appropriately to the perceived threat based on real evidence of the threat, we’ve learnt to look beyond the propaganda. We are the Triceratops. We see a wolf and shrug. Our ability to think clearly, stays intact during a crisis.

Some of us are wolves, we intentionally manipulate the sheeple for a free lunch. However wolves are also pack animals… and when a pack of wolves comes into conflict with a family of Triceratops, I wouldn’t want to be a wolf. This is where we are now.

Back to your original query, I agree the Austrians explain behaviour of the sheeple in ‘safe’ times and the triceratops all of the time.

But under the influence of fear sheeple’s behaviour is more predictable… they are not capable of rational thought and action under these conditions, only herd mentality/action.

The other issue is the sheeple and triceratops are potentially interchangeable depending upon the situational stimuli and this comes down to an individual’s level of self efficacy in the prescribed situation. Covid was far less likely to trigger fear in a healthy person who felt self efficacy around their health than any other person either sick or healthy.

I may have just confused you more but I hope this has made some sense.

Economic theories are the opinion of a blind man trying to explain colours.

Since you are one of the few still reading books.

“The psychology of totalitarianism”

Mattias Desmet

and

“The origins of totalitarianism”

Hannah Arendt