Classical | Neoclassical | Austrian | Marxian | Keynesian | MMT | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starting Point of View | Economy is self-regulating | Economy is driven by supply and demand | Economy is driven by individual actions | Economy is driven by class struggle | Economy is driven by total spending | Economy is driven by public monopoly of currency |
Starting Point of Analysis | Economic growth and freedom | Utility maximization and marginalism | Methodological individualism | Surplus value and labor exploitation | Aggregate demand | Aggregate demand |
Point of View on Value | Labor theory of value | Consumer’s perception of a product’s value | Subjective theory of value | Labor theory of value | Value is determined by total spending | Value is determined by public spending |
Philosophical Point of View | Laissez-faire, free competition | Rational choice theory | Praxeology (study of human action) | Dialectical materialism | Interventionist | Heterodox economics |
Summary of Mechanisms and Processes | Competitive buying and selling lead to economic cooperation | Market equilibrium through supply and demand | Emphasis on spontaneous order and subjective value | Capitalist class gains wealth at the expense of the working class | Government intervention can stabilize the economy | Government can create as much money as needed |
Key Assumptions | Individuals follow their own self-interest | Individuals act rationally | Individuals act based on their own subjective values | Capitalist economies lead to exploitation | Economies do not automatically adjust to full employment | Governments cannot go broke |
Policy Implications | Minimal government intervention | Government intervention to stabilize economy | Minimal government intervention | Revolution and worker control of means of production | Active fiscal and monetary policy | Government spending to achieve full employment |
Significant Contributors | Adam Smith, David Ricardo | William Stanley Jevons, Carl Menger, Léon Walras | Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek | Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels | John Maynard Keynes | Warren Mosler, Stephanie Kelton |
Sources:
- Neoclassical Economics
- Neoclassical Economics – Wikipedia
- Classical Economics
- Classical Economics – Wikipedia
- Austrian School of Economics
- Austrian School of Economics – Investopedia
- Marxian Economics
- Marxian Economics – Investopedia
- Keynesian Economics
- Keynesian Economics – Wikipedia
- Modern Monetary Theory
- Modern Monetary Theory – Investopedia