Quotation of the Day…
by Don Boudreaux
on January 1, 2017
… is from page 103 of Frank Machovec’s insightful 1995 volume, Perfect Competition and the Transformation of Economics (original emphasis):
In classical economics, entrepreneurs were speculators as well as arbitrageurs. In short, an entrepreneur was an opportunity-seeking agent, who, by dint of information-gathering and experience could envision changing demand or supply patterns of raw materials (and manufactured goods with long production lead times), and boldly act to reap economic profit. Sagacity and prescience are his trademarks. Moreover, an entrepreneur’s speculative purchases are made before an emerging change in demand or supply conditions is generally recognized in the market.
DBx: In classical and Austrian economics, the entrepreneur is an active, creative agent – unlike in most modern mainstream economics, in which there either is no entrepreneur at all, or any consideration of the entrepreneur has this agent being no more active, creative, enterprising, or willing to take risks than is the typical tunnel-visioned academic who tells theoretical tales about ‘failing’ markets that can be improved only by politicians and bureaucrats.
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