A new type of superstition has got hold of people's minds, the worship of the state. People demand the exercise of the methods of coercion and compulsion, of violence and threat. Woe to anybody who does not bend his knee to the fashionable idols! Ludwig von Mises More Quotes by Ludwig von Mises More Quotes From Ludwig von Mises Resentment is at work when one so hates somebody for his more favorable circumstances that one is prepared to bear heavy losses if only the hated one might also come to harm. Many of those who attack capitalism know very well that their situation under any other economic system will be less favorable. Ludwig von Mises hate loss might The early industrialists were for the most part men who had their origin in the same social strata from which their workers came. They lived very modestly, spent only a fraction of their earnings for their households and put the rest back into the business. Ludwig von Mises social earning men It is extremely difficult for our contemporaries to conceive of the conditions of free banking because they take government interference with banking for granted and as necessary. Ludwig von Mises granted banking government If men do not now succeed in abolishing war, civilization and mankind are doomed. Ludwig von Mises fate war peace If some peoples pretend that history or geography gives them the right to subjugate other races, nations, or peoples, there can be no peace. Ludwig von Mises race war peace To defeat the aggressors is not enough to make peace durable. The main thing is to discard the ideology that generates war. Ludwig von Mises defeat war peace The continued existence of society depends upon private property. Ludwig von Mises property depends existence Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders; no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way out for himself if society is sweeping toward destruction. Therefore, everyone, in his own interests, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle. None can stand aside with unconcern; the interest of everyone hangs on the result. Whether he chooses or not, every man is drawn into the great historical struggle, the decisive battle into which our epoch has plunged us. Ludwig von Mises responsibility struggle men [T]he essence of so-called war prosperity: it enriches some by what it takes from others. It is not rising wealth but a shifting of wealth and income. Ludwig von Mises money war peace War prosperity is like the prosperity that an earthquake or a plague brings. Ludwig von Mises money war peace Only one thing can conquer war-that attitude of mind which can see nothing in war but destruction and annihilation. Ludwig von Mises attitude war peace Used to the conditions of a capitalistic environment, the average American takes it for granted that every year business makes something new and better accessible to him. Looking backward upon the years of his own life, he realizes that many implements that were totally unknown in the days of his youth and many others which at that time could be enjoyed only by a small minority are now standard equipment of almost every household. Ludwig von Mises average philosophy years No very deep knowledge of economics is usually needed for grasping the immediate effects of a measure; but the task of economics is to foretell the remoter effects, and so to allow us to avoid such acts as attempt to remedy a present ill by sowing the seeds of a much greater ill for the future. Ludwig von Mises sowing liberty tasks The study of economics has been again and again led astray by the vain idea that economics must proceed according to the pattern of other sciences. Ludwig von Mises patterns study ideas Nobody can be at the same time a correct bureaucrat and an innovator Ludwig von Mises innovators bureaucrats The vigorous man industriously striving for the improvement of his condition acts neither more nor less than the lethargic man who sluggishly takes things as they come. For to do nothing and to be idle are also action, they too determine the course of events. Ludwig von Mises libertarian events men Society cannot contribute anything to the breeding and growing of ingenious men. A creative genius cannot be trained. There are no schools for creativeness. A genius is precisely a man who defies all schools and rules, who deviates from the traditional roads of routine and opens up new paths through land inaccessible before. A genius is always a teacher, never a pupil; he is always self-made. Ludwig von Mises teacher men school The Welfare State is merely a method for transforming the market economy step by step into socialism. Ludwig von Mises socialism welfare steps The characteristic feature of modern capitalism is mass production of goods destined for consumption by the masses. The result is a tendency towards a continuous improvement in the average standard of living, a progressing enrichment of the many. Ludwig von Mises progress improvement average The main political problem is how to prevent the police power from becoming tyrannical. This is the meaning of all the struggles for liberty. Ludwig von Mises police political struggle