This working paper - like its companion, Caldwell and Klausinger 2021 - grew out of the authors' joint work on Hayek: A Life 1899-1950 (Caldwell and Klausinger 2022) and it contains material supplementing it. This paper examines the intellectual circles of fin-desiécle Vienna in which the Hayek...

Economists commit a category mistake when they treat democratic governments as indebted. Monarchs can be indebted, as can individuals. In contrast, democracies can't truly be indebted. They are financial intermediaries that form a bridge between what are often willing borrowers and forced...