Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (
September 29,
1881 â€"
October 10,
1973) was a notable
economist and a major influence on the modern
libertarian movement and revival of
classical liberalism. He has been called the "uncontested dean of the
Austrian School of economics".
[ ] His theories have influenced such subsequent economists as
Friedrich von Hayek,
Murray Rothbard, and
Vernon L. Smith.
Ludwig von Mises was born in
Lemberg, then part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire and now the city of
Lviv,
Ukraine, where his father was stationed as a construction engineer.
Physicist Richard von Mises was Ludwig's younger brother. Another sibling died in infancy. When Ludwig and Richard were small children, his family moved back to their ancestral home of
Vienna.
In
1900 he attended the
University of Vienna, becoming influenced by the works of
Carl Menger. Mises' father died in
1903, and in
1906 Ludwig was awarded his
doctorate.
In the years from
1904 to
1914, Mises attended lectures given by the prominent Austrian economist
Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk. Mises taught at the Vienna University in the years from
1913 to
1934, while also serving as a principal economic adviser to the Austrian government. To avoid the influence of
National Socialists in his Austrian homeland, in 1934 Mises left for
Geneva (
Switzerland), where he was a professor at the
Graduate Institute of International Studies until
1940. In 1940 he emigrated to
New York City. He was a visiting professor at
New York University from
1945 until he retired in
1969, though he was not salaried by the university. Instead, he earned his living from funding by businessmen. Despite his growing fame, Mises listed himself plainly in the New York phone directory, and he welcomed students freely to his home. Mises died at the age of 92 at St Vincent's hospital in
New York.
Mises wrote and lectured extensively on behalf of
classical liberalism and is seen as one of the leaders of the
Austrian School of economics. He wrote many works on two related economic themes: :#
monetary economics and
inflation; :#the differences between
government controlled economies and
free trade.
Mises argued that money is demanded for its usefulness in purchasing other goods, rather than for its own sake and that any expansion of the
money supply, not backed by
specie, causes
business cycles. His other notable contribution was his argument that
socialism must fail economically because of the
economic calculation problemâ€"the impossibility of a socialist government being able to make the economic calculations required to organize a complex economy. Mises projected that without a
market economy there would be no functional price system, which he held essential for achieving rational allocation of capital goods to their most productive uses. Socialism would fail as demand cannot be known without prices, according to Von Mises. This argument was elaborated on by subsequent Austrian economists such as Von Hayek.
In
Interventionism, An Economic Analysis (
1940), Ludwig von Mises wrote,
The usual terminology of political language is stupid. What is 'left' and what is 'right'? Why should Hitler be 'right' and Stalin, his temporary friend, be 'left'? Who is 'reactionary' and who is 'progressive'? Reaction against an unwise policy is not to be condemned. And progress towards chaos is not to be commended. Nothing should find acceptance just because it is new, radical, and fashionable. 'Orthodoxy' is not an evil if the doctrine on which the 'orthodox' stand is sound. Who is anti-labor, those who want to lower labor to the Russian level, or those who want for labor the capitalistic standard of the United States? Who is 'nationalist,' those who want to bring their nation under the heel of the Nazis, or those who want to preserve its independence?Among Mises' published works are:
Human Action,
Socialism,
Liberalism,
The Theory of Money and Credit,
Bureaucracy, and
The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality.
A compilation of notable quotations from Mises' writings entitled
The Quotable Mises has been compiled by
Mark Thornton and published by the
Mises Institute.
*
Austrian School*
Praxeology*
Contributions to liberal theory*
Hans-Hermann Hoppe*
Liberalism in Austria*
Libertarianism*
List of Austrian scientists*
List of Austrians*
Ludwig von Mises Institute*
Murray Rothbard *
Richard von Mises - Ludwig von Mises' brother
*
Karl Polanyi - with whom von Mises debated leading to Polanyi's book
The Great Transformation*
Liberty and Economics: The Ludwig von Mises Legacy (video) - available to subscribers only.
*
The Complete Mises Bibliography from the Ludwig von Mises Institute*
Biography from the Ludwig von Mises Institute*
Open Directory Project list of links*
Biblioteca Ludwig von Mises*
Mises on Keynes 1927 review by Mises on a lecture given by Keynes in Berlin
*
Ludwig von Mises Institute*
Bio by Mises scholar Jörg Guido HülsmannOnline e-books
*
Nine Books by Mises, made available online by the
Liberty Fund, publishers of the Complete Works of Ludwig von Mises
* von Mises, Ludwig (1949).
Human Action: A treatise on economics (4th edition, 1996). San Francisco: Fox & Wilkes. ISBN 0-930073-18-5. Made available online by The Ludwig von Mises Institute.
*
Human Action: The Scholars Edition Auburn, Alabama: Mises Institute, 1999. Re-issue of the classic 1949 Edition with new introduction and expanded index.
*
A Critique of Interventionism, The Ludwig von Mises Institute.
*
The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality,
Libertarian Press 1990.
*
Economic Freedom and Interventionism, The Ludwig von Mises Institute.
*
ECONOMIC POLICY Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow Second Edition, with a New Introduction by
Bettina Bien Greaves, The Ludwig von Mises Institute.
*McCaine, Catamite.
Von Mises, The Austrian School, and Class Struggle. Holland Revolutionary Press (hij houdt vrij van jonge jongens)
*
The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of Economics, The Ludwig von Mises Institute.
*
Liberalism: In the Classical Tradition, English edition Copyright 1985 The
Foundation for Economic Education, Irvington, NY. Translation by
Ralph Raico. Online edition Copyright The Mises Institute, 2000.
*
Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis Von Mises' critique of Socialism
