There is a meaningful distinction between 'mainline' economics (Smith, Say, Hume, the classicals, and Austrians, who emphasize self-regulation and harmony of interest) and 'mainstream' economics (whatever is fashionable at a given time, such as Keynesianism), which may not believe in the self-correcting properties of markets.

definitionpending

Speaker

Peter Boettke

Evidence Quote

mainstream connotes a sort of what's fad and fashionable at any point in time so at one time Keynesianism was mainstream but it certainly wasn't mainline it wouldn't it didn't believe in the self-correcting properties of the market

Source

Peter Boettke on Hurricane Katrina and the Economics of Disaster 12/18/2006EconTalk
Created: 6/17/2026, 10:29:22 AM

My Notes

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