[ Freeman , 1985] The great intellectual and political movement known as liberalism has been one of the prime shapers of the modern world. As Ludwig von Mises wrote, it “changed the face of the earth,” creating for the peoples who shared in it a life of freedom and abundance unexampled in previous history. Given this, the paucity of general works
[ New Individualist Review , 1961] When Oswald Spengler in one of his minor books scornfully characterized German classical liberalism as “a bit of the spirit of England on German soil,” he was merely displaying the willful blindness of the school of militaristic statist German historians, who refused to acknowledge as a true compatriot any
[ American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia , 2006] “Classical liberalism” is the term used to designate the ideology advocating private property, an unhampered market economy, the rule of law, constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and of the press, and international peace based on free trade. Up until around 1900, this ideology was
[This article appeared in the Future of Freedom Foundation’s Freedom Daily , August 1992] Classical liberalism—or simply liberalism, as it was called until around the turn of the century—is the signature political philosophy of Western civilization. Hints and suggestions of the liberal idea can be found in other great cultures. But it was the
“He loved liberty as other men love power,” was the judgment passed on Benjamin Constant by a contemporary. His lifelong concern, both as a writer and politician, was the attainment in France and in other nations of a free society; and at the time when classical liberalism was the specter haunting Europe — in the second and third decades of the
Since there are numerous mentions of the anniversary of the Berlin wall I thought I’d share my experiences. In 1961 I was an exchange student in Paris and decided to go to see the wall for myself. (Berlin in December was the coldest I have ever been.) Passing through Checkpoint Charlie I entered Communist territory for the first time. It was as
[Excerpted from “Harry S. Truman: Advancing the Revolution,” in Reassessing the Presidency: The Rise of the Executive State and the Decline of Freedom , John Denson, ed.] The most spectacular episode of Harry Truman’s presidency will never be forgotten but will be forever linked to his name: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and
Leonard Liggio has died, at the age of 81. He was my friend for close to sixty years, and I came to know him well. Today my mind is filled with thoughts and memories of him. Leonard was a Catholic, a scholar, and a libertarian. His Catholic faith was his lodestar. Leonard was a “birthright Catholic,” and from his childhood through to university
THE AUSTRIAN : Among those of us who are very laissez-faire, Europe’s liberal nineteenth century seems like ancient history, and people like Richard Cobden seem to be incredibly far from what is now the mainstream. And yet, leftists seem to believe that “neoliberalism” (i.e., the ideology of “limited government”) is making gains everywhere. Can
The Review of Austrian Economics , Volume 3, Number 1 (1990)
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.
