I think that the most distinctive characteristic of the Austrian School is that is is grounded in reality, logic, subjectivism, and reason. Furthermore the subjective theory of value separates the Austrian School from others schools of economic thought. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, Austrian Economics pursues the truth, and analyzes problems seeking to determine their cause.
One final thought. I love the fact that the Austrian School traces its roots to Aristotle, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and the Jesuit and Dominican scholastics of the School of Salamanca.
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the austrian method, grounded in deductive logic rather than empiricism, allows for a more real world understanding of economic structures than other methods, such as the chicago method of using empirical data to create equations that perfectly predict the past. within this context, not only do you not have ceteras parabus, but you are completely neglecting the need to deduce economic laws.
Additionally, Karl Menger's contribution of marginal utility theory was much better than the other two more mathematical theories proposed during the marginal revolution. What the hell is a Util? people are decision making and concious entities whose actions cannot be simply reduced to the outcome of an equation. Ayn rand unknowingly tended towards this same crap in her objective theory of economics, but that's another story.
Austrians know that the market is complex, and don't begin with the hubris of other systems, which seek to reduce the human being to a digit by aggregating the excrement out of everything. It's a more humble approach to economics...
Plus: there's the allure of being different. It was said of Murray Rothbard that if the world were to become libertarian, he'd become statist just to be contrary.
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