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[ Human Action (1949)]   Liberalism, in its 19th-century sense, is a political doctrine. It is not a theory, but an application of the theories developed by praxeology and especially by economics to definite problems of human action within society. As a political doctrine liberalism is not neutral with regard to values and the ultimate ends sought

[ Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow  (1979), lecture 1 (1958)] Descriptive terms which people use are often quite misleading. In talking about modern captains of industry and leaders of big business, for instance, they call a man a “chocolate king” or a “cotton king” or an “automobile king.” Their use of such terminology implies

[From  Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow (1979), Lecture 2, “Socialism” (1958)] I am here in Buenos Aires as a guest of the Centro de Difusión Economía Libre.  What is  economía libre ? What does this system of economic freedom mean? The answer is simple: it is the market economy, it is the system in which the cooperation of

[ Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow (1979), Lecture 3 (1958)]   A famous, very often quoted phrase says, “That government is best, which governs least.” I do not believe this to be a correct description of the functions of a good government. Government ought to do all the things for which it is needed and for which it was

Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow (1979), transcription of Lecture 4 (1958) If the supply of caviar were as plentiful as the supply of potatoes, the price of caviar — that is, the exchange ratio between caviar and money or caviar and other commodities — would change considerably. In that case, one could obtain caviar at a much

[ Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow (1979), Lecture 5 (1958)] Some people call the programs of economic freedom a negative program. They say, “What do you liberals really want? You are against socialism, government intervention, inflation, labor union violence, protective tariffs. You say no to everything.” I would call this

Editor’s Note: President Obama’s “Fiscal Cliff” message to the American public is essentially this: “Either Congress lets me soak the ‘rich’, or you yourselves will get soaked when across-the-board tax hikes automatically kick in at year end. It’s you or them.” The American people should not yield to this thuggish demagoguery. Not only does

The gold standard was an international standard. It safeguarded the stability of foreign exchange rates. It was a corollary of free trade and of the international division of labor. Therefore those who favored etatism and radical protectionism disparaged it and advocated its abolition. Their campaign was successful. Even at the height of

[ Human Action, The Scholar’s Edition • By Ludwig von Mises • Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998 • 912 pages]   There are two ways to read Mises’s great treatise. Most readers will, I fear, find the book too much to attempt to grasp systematically. Not everyone feels like reading a 900-page book straight through. If you shrink from a full

Marx assumes tacitly that the social condition of a class uniquely determines its interests and that there can be no doubt what kind of policy best serves these interests. The class does not have to choose between various policies. The historical situation enjoins upon it a definite policy. There is no alternative. It follows that the class does