Tag: Ludwig von Mises

MLLG

Ludwig von Mises 140th Birthday – Part II – Wisdom From the Greatest Social Thinker of Our Time

George Noga

“Freedom is indivisible; once it is restricted, a decline begins which is difficult to stop.”

Ludwig von Mises 140th Birthday – Part II

Wisdom From the Greatest Social Thinker of Our Time

By: George Noga – October 3, 2021

Ludwig Heinrich Elder von Mises, born in 1881, was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician and sociologist. He wrote and lectured extensively on the societal virtues of classical liberalism and is best known for his work on human choice and action. He is revered today because his body of work has proven accurate about the success of free market capitalism and the failure of collectivism. He was a mentor to Friedrich Hayek, author of The Road to Serfdom. Von Mises died in 1973 at age 92. Note: please visit our website at www.mllg.us to read last week’s Part I on von Mises.

The legacy of von Mises is kept alive today by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, located at Auburn University. It maintains a website with a blog, books and publications, podcasts and a graduate program in Austrian economics. The institute also publishes a free daily (M-F) newsletter chock full of articles applying von Mises’ teachings to today’s issues. You can subscribe to the newsletter at https://mises.org. This is one of a very few publications I look at each day. It can be a bit wonkish – but give it a try,

More Wisdom from Ludwig von Mises (lightly edited)

Socialism: “The champions of socialism call themselves progressives, but they want a system characterized by rigid observance of routine and resistance to every kind of improvement. They call themselves liberals but they are intent on abolishing liberty. They call themselves democrats but they yearn for dictatorship. They call themselves revolutionaries but they want to make government omnipotent. They promise the Garden of Eden but they plan to transform the world into a gigantic post office.”

Dictatorship: “Nobody ever recommended a dictatorship aiming at ends other than those he himself approved. He who advocates dictatorship always advocates the unrestricted rule of his own will.”

Marx and freedom: “The Marxian love of democratic institutions was a stratagem only, a pious fraud for the deception of the masses. Within a socialist community there is no room left for freedom.”

“Socialism is not what it pretends to be. It is not the pioneer of a better world, but the spoiler of civilization; it does not build, it destroys.”

Status of workers: “In Lenin’s eyes workers were only workers and not also customers. He believed they were slaves under capitalism and their status did not change under socialism. Socialism substitutes the sovereignty of a dictator or a committee of dictators for the sovereignty of consumers. Workers are no longer men, they are pawns in the hands of the chief social engineer. Even freedom to rear progeny will be taken.”

Von Mises sampler: “If history teaches anything, it is that private property is linked inextricably with civilization. . . . . . Making undeveloped nations more prosperous cannot be solved by material aid. It is a spiritual and intellectual problem. . . . . All people, however fanatical they may be in their zeal to disparage capitalism, implicitly pay homage to it by clamoring for the products it turns out . . . . . Economic knowledge is an essential element to human civilization; it is the foundation on which all moral, intellectual and technological achievements have been built. If men disregard its teachings, they will stamp out society and the human race.”

Next up is our politically incorrect celebration of Columbus Day

Click here to join our mailing list

More Liberty Less Government – mllg@cfl.rr.com – www.mllg.us

Facebook ‌ Twitter ‌ LinkedIn

MLLG

Ludwig von Mises 140th Birthday – Part I – Greatest Social Thinker of the 20th Century

George Noga

“The issue is always the same: government or the market. There is no third way.”

Ludwig von Mises 140th Birthday – Part I

Greatest Social Thinker of the 20th Century

By: George Noga – September 26, 2021

This month marks the 140th birthday of Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises who died in 1973 at age 92. Von Mises was not only the best economist, but also the greatest social thinker, of the 20th century. We honor his birthday by presenting a small sample of his work in two posts. We have lightly edited for length and modernity.

Choosing between capitalism and socialism: “A man who chooses between drinking a glass of milk or a glass of cyanide does not choose between two beverages; he chooses between life and death. A society that chooses between capitalism and socialism does not choose between two social systems; it chooses between social cooperation and the disintegration of society. Socialism is not an alternative to capitalism.”

On human action: “All rational action is in the first place individual action. Only the individual thinks. Only the individual reasons. Only the individual acts.”

Sovereign consumer: “The common man is the sovereign consumer whose buying, or abstention from buying, determines the quality and quantity of what is produced, and who in earlier ages were serfs, slaves and paupers. They are the customers for whose favor businesses compete and who always are right. Wealth is only acquired by serving customers in a daily plebiscite in which every penny confers the right to vote.”

Totalitarianism: “You can’t fight totalitarianism by adopting totalitarian methods. Freedom can only be won by men committed to the principles of freedom. The first requisite for a better social order is unrestricted freedom of thought and speech.”

“Tyranny is the political corollary of socialism just as representative government is the political corollary of a market economy.”

Anti-capitalist mentality: “Capitalism raises living standards to unprecedented levels. A nation is more prosperous the fewer obstacles it puts in the way of of free enterprise. The bias and bigotry of public opinion manifests itself by attaching the epithet ‘capitalist’ exclusively to things abominable, but never to those of which all approve.”

Responsibility for society: “Everyone caries a part of society on his shoulders; no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way out for himself if society is sweeping toward destruction. Therefore, everyone, in his own interests, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle.”

Liquor versus bibles: “It is not the fault of entrepreneurs if consumers prefer liquor to bibles and if governments prefer guns to butter. The entrepreneur does not make greater profits selling bad things versus good things. His profits are the greater the better he succeeds in providing consumers those things they ask for most intensely'”

Ludwig von Mises sampler of pithy quotes: “Every government intervention creates unintended consequences which lead to further interventions. . . . . . He who is unfit to serve his fellow citizens wants to rule them. . . . . . . Freedom is indivisible. As soon as one starts to restrict it, one enters upon a decline which it is difficult to stop. . . . . . The average man is both better informed and less corruptible in the decisions he makes as a consumer than as a voter. . . . . . Every socialist is a disguised dictator. . . . . . Worship of the state is the worship of force. . . . . . Every step which leads from capitalism toward planning is necessarily a step nearer to absolutism and dictatorship.”

Next week is the second part of our homage to Ludwig von Mises.

Click here to join our mailing list

Greatest Social Thinker of the 20th Century

George Noga
“There is no such thing as a mixed economy midway between capitalism and socialism.” 
Greatest Social Thinker of the 20th Century
By: George Noga – September 29, 2019

           Today marks the 138th birthday of Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises, who died in 1973 at age 92. I have read economics for over a half century and von Mises has influenced me more than anyone.  I consider him not only the best economist, but also the greatest social thinker of the last century. I honor his birthday by presenting a small sample of his writings, very lightly edited for modernity and length.

        Sovereign consumer: “The common man is the sovereign consumer whose buying, or abstention from buying, determines the quality and quantity of what is produced, and who in preceding ages were serfs, slaves and paupers. They are the customers for whose favor businesses compete and who always are right. Wealth is only acquired by serving customers in a daily plebiscite in which every penny gives the right to vote.“

       Anti-capitalist mentality: “Laissez-faire capitalism has raised living standards to unprecedented levels. A nation is more prosperous the less it puts obstacles in the way of free enterprise. The US is more prosperous than all other countries because its government embarked later than others on policies that obstruct business. The bias and bigotry of public opinion manifests itself by attaching the epithet ‘capitalistic’ exclusively to things abominable but never to those of which all approve.“

      Socialism: “The champions of socialism call themselves progressives, but they recommend a system which is characterized by rigid observance of routine and by a resistance to every kind of improvement. They call themselves liberals, but they are intent on abolishing liberty. They call themselves democrats, but they yearn for dictatorship. They call themselves revolutionaries, but they want to make government omnipotent. They promise the blessings of the Garden of Eden but they plan to transform the world into a gigantic post office – every man a clerk in a bureau.”

       Foreign aid: “Making underdeveloped nations more prosperous cannot be solved by material aid. It is a spiritual and intellectual problem. Prosperity is not simply a matter of capital investment. It is an ideological issue.”

     Von Mises Sampler: “If history teaches anything, it is that private property is inextricably linked with civilization. . . . All rational action is in the first place individual action. . . . Every government intervention creates unintended consequences which lead to further interventions. . . . Every socialist is a disguised dictator. . . . Tyranny is the political corollary of socialism as representative government is the political corollary of a market economy. . . . . Worship of state is the worship of force. . . . . . Socialism is not what it pretends to be. It is not the pioneer of a better world, but the spoiler of thousands of years of civilization; it does not build, it destroys.“

Following is the conclusion of von Mises’ magnum opus, Human Action

     “Economic knowledge is an essential element to human civilization; it is the foundation on which all moral, intellectual and technological achievements of the last centuries have been built. It rests with men whether they will use this rich treasure, or leave it unused. But if they disregard its teachings and warnings, they will not annul economics; they will stamp out society and the human race.”

Note: The Ludwig von Mises Institute is an outstanding source of information; it has a free daily email newsletter (available at articles@mises.org) to which you may subscribe. It is one of only a very few publications I read every day. Try it; you will be glad you did.

Next on October 6th is “Condor Cuisinart” or, liberalism is for the birds.
More Liberty Less Government  –  mllg@mllg.us  –  www.mllg.us