Front Page Titles (by Subject) Ludwig von Mises

Ludwig von Mises

1881 - 1973

About the Author

Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was the acknowledged leader of the Austrian School of economic thought, a prodigious originator in economic theory, and a prolific author. Mises’ writings and lectures encompassed economic theory, history, epistemology, government, and political philosophy. His contributions to economic theory include important clarifications on the quantity theory of money, the theory of the trade cycle, the integration of monetary theory with economic theory in general, and a demonstration that socialism must fail because it cannot solve the problem of economic calculation. Mises was the first scholar to recognize that economics is part of a larger science in human action, a science which Mises called “praxeology”. He taught at the University of Vienna and later at New York University. Mises wrote many works on two related economic themes: 1. monetary economics, inflation, and the role of government, and 2. the differences between government-controlled economies and free trade. His influential work on economic freedoms, their causes and consequences, brought him to highlight the interrelationships between economic and non-economic freedoms in societies, and the appropriate role for government.

For additional information about Ludwig von Mises see the following:

• in the Forum: Essays on Mises
• at our sister website Econlib: the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics entry on Mises

See the Timeline of the Life and Work of Ludwig von Mises:

• JPG (1200 px, 442 KB)
• PDF (41 KB) (highest qulaity)

Key: events in the author’s life (blue); historical events (green); books & organisations (red).

In The Library:

• author: The Anti-capitalist Mentality (1956)
• author: The Best of the OLL No. 3: Ludwig von Mises, “The Economics of War” (1949) (2013)
• author: The Best of the OLL No. 4: Ludwig von Mises, “Liberty and Property” (October, 1958) (2013)
• author: Bureaucracy (1944)
• author: Economic Freedom and Interventionism (1990)
• foreword: The Economic Point of View (1960)
• author: Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow (1979)
• author: Die Entwicklung des gutsherrlich-bäuerlichen Verhältnisses in Galizien (1772-1848) (1902)
• author: “Finance and Banking in the Austrian Empire and the Republic of Austria” (1921)
• author: Human Action: A Treatise on Economics (FEE ed.) (1949)
• author: Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, in 4 vols. (LF ed.) (1996)
• author: Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, vol. 1 (LF ed.) (1996)
• author: Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, vol. 2 (LF ed.) (1996)
• author: Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, vol. 3 (LF ed.) (1996)
• author: Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, vol. 4 (LF ed.) (1996)
• author: Interventionism: An Economic Analysis (1940)
• author: Liberalism: The Classical Tradition (LF ed.) (1962)
• author: Liberalism: A Socio-Economic Exposition (IHS ed.) (1962)
• author: Nation, State, and Economy: Contributions to the Politics and History of Our Time (1919)
• author: Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the Total State and Total War (1944)
• author: On the Manipulation of Money and Credit: Three Treatises on Trade-Cycle Theory (1978)
• author: Planning for Freedom: Let the Market System Work. A Collection of Essays and Addresses (1952)
• author: Selected Writings of Ludwig von Mises, vol. 1: Monetary and Economic Problems Before, During, and After the Great War (2012)
• author: Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis (1922)
• author: Theory and History: An Interpretation of Social and Economic Evolution (LF ed.) (1957)
• author: Theory and History: An Interpretation of Social and Economic Evolution (1957)
• author: The Theory of Money and Credit (1912)
• author: The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science: An Essay on Method (1962)

Quotations:

• Ludwig von Mises laments the passing of the Age of Limited Warfare and the coming of Mass Destruction in the Age of Statism and Conquest (1949) (1 November, 2004)
• Ludwig von Mises argues that the division of labor and human cooperation are the two sides of the same coin and are not antagonistic to each other (1949) (16 April, 2007)
• Ludwig von Mises argues that monopolies are the direct result of government intervention and not the product of any inherent tendency within the capitalist system (1949) (24 September, 2007)
• Ludwig von Mises shows the inevitability of economic slumps after a period of credit expansion (1951) (13 October, 2008)
• Ludwig von Mises identifies the source of the disruption of the world monetary order as the failed policies of governments and their central banks (1934) (27 October, 2008)
• Ludwig von Mises lays out five fundamental truths of monetary expansion (1949) (23 March, 2009)
• Ludwig von Mises argues that sound money is an instrument for the protection of civil liberties and a means of limiting government power (1912) (6 April, 2009)
• Ludwig von Mises on the impossibility of rational economic planning under Socialism (1922) (12 January, 2010)
• Mises on human action, predicting the future, and who will win the World Cup Football tournament (1966) (21 June, 2010)
• Mises on the gold standard as the symbol of international peace and prosperity (1949) (22 November, 2010)
• Mises on the interconnection between economic and political freedom (1949) (14 December, 2011)
• Mises on the public sector as “tax eaters” who “feast” on the assets of the ordinary tax payer (1953) (10 April, 2011)
• Mises and the Emergence of Etatism in Germany (1944) (12 September, 2011)
• Mises on how price controls lead to socialism (1944) (13 September, 2011)
• Mises on classical liberalism and the gold standard (1928) (17 October, 2011)
• The 11th Day of Christmas: Mises on the gold standard and peace on earth (1934) (30 December, 2012)
• Mises on the worship of the state or statolatry (1944) (4 March, 2013)