Ludwig von Mises Livres

Published for the first time together in one volume is Ludwig von Mises's Notes and Recollections with The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of Economics. Written between 1940 and 1941, shortly after he arrived in the United States, Notes and Recollections is in effect Mises's pre-1940 intellectual autobiography. This work reveals how Mises developed his theories, wrote his books, lectured, and taught; it describes his life in Vienna and the people with whom he worked. He also discusses his activities as an adviser to Austrian government officials and his frustrations in attempting to keep inflation and communist and Nazi ideas from destroying the Austrian economy. The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of Economics is an essay originally published in English in 1969 that reveals Mises's intellectual development in the context of the origins of the Austrian School. It serves as a good introduction to the theory and history of the Austrian School. As Mises explains in these two works, his viewpoint that modern economics is based on subjective value and marginal-utility theory separated him from classical economists such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill. Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes.

In this anthology, Mises offers an articulate and accessible introduction to and critique of two topics he considers especially important: inflation and government interventionism. Mises believes inflation, that is monetary expansion, is destructive; it destroys savings and investment, which are the basis for production and prosperity. Government controls and economic planning never accomplish what their proponents intend. Mises consistently argues that the solution to government intervention is free markets and free enterprise, which call for reforming government. For that, ideas must be changed to "let the market system work." There is no better "planning for freedom" than this. The seventeen essays in Planning for Freedom: Let the Market System Work are tied together by one overarching idea, best expressed by Mises in the capstone essay "Profit and Loss." The essays in the final section of the book summarize Mises's contributions to economic thought and emphasize his firm belief in the power of ideas. Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was the leading spokesman of the Austrian School of economics throughout most of the twentieth century. Bettina Bien Greaves is a former resident scholar and trustee of the Foundation for Economic Education and was a senior staff member at FEE from 1951 to 1999.

Shortly after arriving in the United States, having fled a war-torn Europe, Ludwig von Mises sat down to complete his trilogy on economic systems. The result was this remarkably concise treatise, which tragically was not published until 1998. What Mises had foreseen was a world trapped between fully planned economies, which were clearly failing, and fully free markets, which were a casualty of depression and war. He warned that mixed systems give rise of political instability and economic stagnation, and proved that this was the case through a general model of interventionism and a specific analysis of price control, credit expansion, subsidies, welfare, corporatism, and the war economy. Particularly interesting is his discussion of the draft, which he sees as a species of socialism itself. A crucial book to understand in the post-socialist age. This book is not to be confused with his earlier book on price control entitled A Critique of Interventionism.The contents of this volume Introduction 1. The Problem 2. Capitalism or Market Economy 3. The Socialist Economy 4. The Capitalist State and the Socialist State 5. the Interventionist State 6. The Plea for Moral Reform I. Interference by Restriction 1. The Nature of Restrictive Measures 2. Costs and Benefits of Restrictive Measures 3. The Restrictive Measure as a Privilege 4. Restrictive Measures as Expenditures II. Interference by Price Control 1. The Statutory Law Versus Economic Law 2. The Reaction of the Market 3. Minimum Wages and Unemployment 4. The Political Consequences of Unemployment III. Inflation and Credit Expansion 1. Inflation 2. Credit Expansion 3. Foreign Exchange Control 4. The Flight of Capital and the Problem of "Hot Money" ISBN 1572460717 93 pp. (pb)

Published by Liberty Fund for the first time in English, "On the Manipulation of Money and Credit" consists primarily of three pieces on monetary theory written by Ludwig von Mises between 1923 and 1931. As a precursor to Human Action, Mises's magnum opus, this volume includes some of his most important contributions to trade-cycle theory. The first essay, "Stabilization of the Monetary Unit from the Viewpoint of Theory" written in 1923 during a period of German hyperinflation, discusses the consequences of the fluctuating purchasing power of paper money and explores such ideas as the outcome of inflation, that is, the result of the increase in the amount of money, and an emancipation of monetary value from the influence of government. Written in 1928, the second essay, "Monetary Stabilization and Cyclical Policy" critiques schemes for stabilising prices and for "measuring" purchasing power. The third selection is a speech Mises gave in 1931, "The Causes of the Economic Crisis". It explores the nature and role of the market and cyclical changes in business conditions.

From one of the preeminent theorists of the acclaimed Austrian school of economics, "The Theory of Money and Credit" represents a major contribution to the science of economics. Von Mises examines the value of money, how it can be measured, and the effects of credit and monetary policy at the nation-state level. Von Mises is well known for advocating a return to the gold standard as a way to eliminate the growth and recession cycles. Given the current economic crises, many people who want a better understanding of economics are turning back to this classic work in order to be better informed on the implications of monetary and credit policy.

Theory and History is primarily a critique of Karl Marx, his materialism, and his prediction of the inevitability of socialism. Marx attributes the creation of tools and machines, as well as the economic structure of society, to undefined "material productive forces;" Mises rejects this materialistic view; he points out that tools and machines are actually created by individuals acting on the basis of non-materialistic ideas. This book discusses the theory of economics, i.e., the study of purposive human action, and with history, the record of the past actions of individuals. All actions are determined by ideas. Thoughts and ideas are "real things," Mises writes. "Although intangible and immaterial, they are factors in bringing about changes in the realm, of tangible and material things." Rather than rejecting the study of historical change as a "useless pastime," Mises considers it of the utmost practical importance. "History looks backward into the past, but the lesson it teaches concerns things to come." History opens the mind to an understanding of human nature, increases wisdom, and distinguishes civilized man from the barbarian. Moreover, historical knowledge is of the utmost importance in helping to anticipate and plan for the future. -- Publisher description.

Essential to Mises's concept of a classical liberal economy is the absence of interference by the state. In World War I, Germany and its allies were overpowered by the Allied Powers in population, economic production, and military might, and its defeat was inevitable. Mises believed that Germany should not seek revenge for the peace of Versailles; rather it should adopt liberal ideas and a free-market economy by expanding the international division of labor, which would help all parties. "For us and for humanity," Mises wrote, "there is only one salvation: return to rationalistic liberalism." Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was the leading spokesman of the Austrian School of economics throughout most of the twentieth century. Bettina Bien Greaves is a former resident scholar and trustee of the Foundation for Economic Education and was a senior staff member at FEE from 1951 to 1999. Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes.

Written toward the end of Mises's life, his last monograph, The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science, returned to science, economics as a science based on human action. Mises believed that, since the publication of Human Action, economists and scientists alike had misinterpreted the idea of economics as a science by deeming it epistemological positivism -- that they believed that the "science" basis was still more rooted in philosophy than in actual science. In this volume, Mises argued that economics is a science because human action is a natural order of life and that it is the actions of humans that determine markets and capital decisions. Since Mises believed these links could be proven scientifically, he concluded that economics, with its basis on that human action, is indeed a science in its own right and not an ideology or a metaphysical doctrine. What has been described as his most passionate work, The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science brings together all of the themes from Mises's previous work.