But, seriously folks.
Hardly one of us doesn’t have some repulsive gut wrenching reaction to the word politics. It seems to call to mind all the worst of humanity. Kevin Spacey is the paradigm it seems for what a politician has become and Jimmy Stewart, well, Mr Smith will just have to wait. As it happens, there is some unpacking to do in that word. We’ve history, Constitutional, Revolutionary War, social, and victors and losers to name some. There is communication skill and debate skill. Interpersonal skills. Skills with personal restraint and negotiation. And economics. That is an important one, and, as I can attest, a discipline which is substantially overlooked and under appreciated.
My training is as a chef and baker. I can price a menu and understand the nuances of pricing portions of food for profit. I can grasp the basics of supply and demand and was more than certain I knew what was needed to get on in life. I suspect more than a few people feel the same. I was wrong about knowing enough.
I’ve on occasion heard a clever turn of phrase which came to me often enough as an axiom hidden in sarcasm: I don’t know what I don’t know. Yes, certainly there is obvious truth in and to that. But, sometimes, what we don’t know can harm us. What I didn’t know about economics was on par with what “Perry”, John Mahoney’s character didn’t know about women: a lot.
What I Don’t Know
I have worked at bridging that gap with knowledge and, as it happens, terms. The lingo follows the knowledge, but I’ll tell you, there be some lingo out there. John Maynard Keynse (to know what not to do) and Hayek and Bastiat and Hazlitt and Ludwig von Mises. That guy, it turns out, is something of a big deal in economics, and especially in something called the Austrian School.
My plate is a bit full with reading pieces from some of each of those people as well as brushing up on libertarianism in general. The big take away is this: economics is the key to liberty. Seems a bit hard to conceive, but if you haven’t money with which to rent or buy a home and buy food for the kids then you might be at the mercy of the state. Oh, okay. How bad can that be? Well, of the state pays for your things, then they have control over which things you get (or don’t) which services you get (or don’t) and on down the line. Seems a stretch, right? I am old enough to recall Boris Yeltsin being amazed at Randall’s grocery store.
So I’m back in school of my own accord learning about schools. Austrian and Chicago and London, Mises -v- Keynes. It’s a bit to grasp.
What I Do Know
I taught culinary school. I know just enough to know what I don’t know, and brother, let me tell you that is a lot. But, I’ll share what I do know, and of much greater value than that, where I learned it. A site of astonishing depth and breadth is https://.mises.org. Just, wow. Additionally, I am finding great value in Tom Woods podcast, The Tom Woods Show.
It seems no talk of Austria could be complete unless we also talked dessert. Rick Rodgers wrote a book a few years ago called Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. Yes, it isn’t Austria exactly, but once you make some of these goodies, you really won’t care. He writes well, has clear knowledge of his craft and the recipes work. Don’t forget the coffee.
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