The Economics of the Middle-of-the-Road Policy

Tags: Interventionism, Political Theory, Big Government

04/25/1962 Ludwig von Mises

Private enterprise systems improve human cooperation and further peace and prosperity. Economic systems with which governments intervene are called liberal, or middle of the road economics. They declare they are not socialist. They say they wish to preserve market systems. But, is that possible? No. Nothing will be left of the free market. Capitalism and socialism cannot coexist. Step by step, interventionism erodes capitalism into some form of socialism. The clear distinction between production and government must be reestablished and left untouched.

The inaugural lecture in the American School of Economics lecture series. Presented at New York University on 25 April 1962.

Special thanks to Richard Ebeling for making the original reel-to-reel recording available.

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.

Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

Become a Member