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Ludwig von Mises

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Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig von Mises

Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was a notable economist and a major influence on the modern libertarian movement and revival of classical liberalism. He has been called the "uncontested dean of the Austrian School of economics". His theories have influenced such subsequent economists as Friedrich von Hayek, Eric Voegelin, and Murray Rothbard.

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Childhood and family background

Ludwig von Mises was born in Lemberg, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now the city of Lviv, Ukraine, where his father was stationed as a construction engineer. Physicist Richard von Mises was Ludwig's younger brother. Another sibling died in infancy. When Ludwig and Richard were small children, his family moved back to their ancestral home of Vienna.

In 1900 he attended the University of Vienna, becoming influenced by the works of Carl Menger. Mises' father died in 1903, and in 1906 Ludwig was awarded his doctorate.

This is the Coat of arms of Ludwig von Mises's great-grandfather Mayer Rachmiel Mises, awarded upon his 1881 ennoblement by Franz Joseph I of Austria.
This is the Coat of arms of Ludwig von Mises's great-grandfather Mayer Rachmiel Mises, awarded upon his 1881 ennoblement by Franz Joseph I of Austria.

Professional life

In the years from 1904 to 1914, Mises attended lectures given by the prominent Austrian economist Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk. Mises taught at the Vienna University in the years from 1913 to 1934, while also serving as a principal economic adviser to the Austrian government. To avoid the influence of National Socialists in his Austrian homeland, in 1934 Mises left for Geneva (Switzerland), where he was a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies until 1940. In 1940 he emigrated to New York City. He was a visiting professor at New York University from 1945 until he retired in 1969, though he was not salaried by the university. Instead, he earned his living from funding by businessmen. Mises died at the age of 92 at St Vincent's hospital in New York.

Contributions to the field of economics

Mises wrote and lectured extensively on behalf of classical liberalism and is seen as one of the leaders of the Austrian School of economics. He wrote many works on two related economic themes:
#monetary economics and inflation;
#the differences between government controlled economies and free trade.
Mises argued that money is demanded for its usefulness in purchasing other goods, rather than for its own sake and that excessive money supply causes business cycles. His other notable contribution was his argument that socialism must fail economically because of the economic calculation problem—the impossibility of a socialist government being able to make the economic calculations required to organize a complex economy. Mises projected that without a market economy there would be no functional price system, which he held essential for achieving rational allocation of capital goods to their most productive uses. Socialism would fail as demand cannot be known without prices, according to Von Mises. This argument was elaborated on by subsequent Austrian economists such as Von Hayek.

In Interventionism, An Economic Analysis (1940), Ludwig von Mises wrote,

The usual terminology of political language is stupid. What is 'left' and what is 'right'? Why should Hitler be 'right' and Stalin, his temporary friend, be 'left'? Who is 'reactionary' and who is 'progressive'? Reaction against an unwise policy is not to be condemned. And progress towards chaos is not to be commended. Nothing should find acceptance just because it is new, radical, and fashionable. 'Orthodoxy' is not an evil if the doctrine on which the 'orthodox' stand is sound. Who is anti-labor, those who want to lower labor to the Russian level, or those who want for labor the capitalistic standard of the United States? Who is 'nationalist,' those who want to bring their nation under the heel of the Nazis, or those who want to preserve its independence?
Among Mises' published works are: Human Action, Socialism, Liberalism, The Theory of Money and Credit, Bureaucracy, and The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality.

A compilation of notable quotations from Mises' writings entitled The Quotable Mises has been compiled by Mark Thornton and published by the Mises Institute.

See also

Notes

External links

Online e-books

 

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