Everybody thinks of economics whether he is aware of it or not. In joining a political party or in casting his ballot, the citizen implicitly takes a stand upon essential economic theories. Ludwig von Mises More Quotes by Ludwig von Mises More Quotes From Ludwig von Mises The government and its chiefs do not have the powers of the mythical Santa Claus. They cannot spend except by taking out of the pockets of some people for the benefit of others. Ludwig von Mises pockets government people The greater productivity of work under the division of labor is a unifying influence. It leads men to regard each other as comrades in a joint struggle for welfare, rather than as competitors in a struggle for existence. It makes friends out of enemies, peace out of war, society out of individuals. Ludwig von Mises struggle men war While under precapitalistic conditions superior men were the masters on whom the masses of the inferior had to attend, under capitalism the more gifted and more able have no means to profit from their superiority other than to serve to the best of their abilities the wishes of the majority of the less gifted. Ludwig von Mises equality men mean The market steers the capitalistic economy. It directs each individual's activities into those channels in which he best serves the wants of his fellow-men. The market alone puts the whole social system of private ownership of the means of production and free enterprise in order and provides it with sense and meaning. Ludwig von Mises men order mean War can really cause no economic boom, at least not directly, since an increase in wealth never does result from destruction of goods. Ludwig von Mises money doe war It is true that some secluded intellectuals in their esoteric circles talk differently. They proclaim the priority of what they call eternal absolute values and feign in their declamations—not in their personal conduct—a disdain of things secular and transitory. But the public ignores such utterances. The main goal of present-day political action is to secure for the respective pressure group memberships the highest material well-being. The only way for a leader to succeed is to instill in people the conviction that his program best serves the attainment of this goal. Ludwig von Mises pressure-groups circles goal No one can escape the influence of a prevailing ideology. Ludwig von Mises prevailing influence ideology In the socialist commonwealth every economic change becomes an undertaking whose success can be neither appraised in advance nor later retrospectively determined. There is only groping in the dark. Socialism is the abolition of rational economy. Ludwig von Mises socialism determined dark History can tell us what happened in the past. But it cannot assert that it must happen again in the future. Ludwig von Mises happened historical past A short time ago the demagogues blamed capitalism for the poverty of the masses. Today they rather blame capitalism for the "affluence" that it bestows upon the common man. Ludwig von Mises poverty today men Fortunes cannot grow; someone has to increase them. Ludwig von Mises increase grows fortune If we live our lives as a gift it is possible to reach a blissful state of eternal happiness. It is those who live their life with a sense of entitlement that undermine peace , freedom and liberty. Know that every breath is a miracle and every moment a blessing and you will achieve your dreams. Planning other people's actions means to prevent them from planning for themselves, means to deprive them of their essentially human quality, means enslaving them. Ludwig von Mises blessing dream mean Seen from the point of view of the particular group interests of the bureaucrats, every measure that makes the government's payroll swell is progress. Ludwig von Mises progress government views Louis XIV was very frank and sincere when he said: I am the State. The modern statist is modest. He says: I am the servant of the State; but, he implies, the State is God. You could revolt against a Bourbon king, and the French did it. This was, of course, a struggle of man against man. But you cannot revolt against the god State and against his humble handy man, the bureaucrat. Ludwig von Mises kings struggle humble The boom produces impoverishment. But still more disastrous are its moral ravages. It makes people despondent and dispirited. The more optimistic they were under the illusory prosperity of the boom, the greater is their despair and their feeling of frustration. Ludwig von Mises optimistic frustration people Government and state can never be perfect because they owe their raison d'être to the imperfection of man and can attain their end, the elimination of man's innate impulse to violence, only by recourse to violence, the very thing they are called upon to prevent. Ludwig von Mises violence perfect men Inflation is the true opium of the people and it is administered to them by anticapitalist governments and parties. Ludwig von Mises party government people There is no other planning for freedom and general welfare than to let the market system work. Ludwig von Mises general-welfare welfare planning Under capitalism the common man enjoys amenities which in ages gone by were unknown and therefore inaccessible even to the richest people. Ludwig von Mises age men people Big business depends entirely on the patronage of those who buy its products: the biggest enterprises loses its power and its influence when it loses its customers. Ludwig von Mises patronage influence bigs
