The first socialists were the intellectuals; they, and not the masses, are the backbone of Socialism. Ludwig von Mises More Quotes by Ludwig von Mises More Quotes From Ludwig von Mises The sharper the competition, the better it serves its social function to improve economic production. Ludwig von Mises economic competition social The masses, in their capacity as consumers, ultimately determine everybody's revenues and wealth. Ludwig von Mises wealth mass capacity It is inherent in the nature of the capitalistic economy that, in the final analysis, the employment of the factors of production is aimed only toward serving the wishes of consumers. Ludwig von Mises finals analysis wish Every step toward the elimination of profit is progress on the way toward social disintegration. Ludwig von Mises progress steps way Capital does not 'beget profit' as Marx thought. The capital goods as such are dead things that in themselves do not accomplish anything. If they are utilized according to a good idea, profit results. If they are utilized according to a mistaken idea, no profit or losses result. It is the entrepreneurial decision that creates either profit or loss. Ludwig von Mises decision loss ideas Only to bureaucrats can the idea occur that establishing new offices, promulgating new decrees, and increasing the number of government employees alone can be described as positive and beneficial measures. Ludwig von Mises government numbers ideas The goal of liberalism is the peaceful cooperation of all men. It aims at peace among nations too. When there is private ownership of the means of production everywhere and when laws, the tribunals and the administration treat foreigners and citizens on equal terms, it is of little importance where a country's frontiers are drawn... War no longer pays; there is no motive for aggression... All nations can coexist peacefully. Ludwig von Mises war mean country Neither the entrepreneurs nor the farmers nor the capitalists determine what has to be produced. The consumers do that. Ludwig von Mises entrepreneur liberty freedom The "progressives" who today masquerade as "liberals" may rant against "fascism"; yet it is their policy that paves the way for Hitlerism. Nothing could have been more helpful to the success of the National-Socialist (Nazi) movement than the methods used by the "progressives," denouncing Nazism as a party serving the interests of "capital." The German workers knew this tactic too well to be deceived by it again. Ludwig von Mises liberty movement party German Marxian's coined the dictum: If socialism is against human nature, then human nature must be changed. Ludwig von Mises human-nature political philosophy People do not cooperate under the division of labor because they love or should love one another. They cooperate because this best serves their own interests. Neither love nor charity nor any other sympathetic sentiments but rightly understood selfishness is what originally impelled man to adjust himself to the requirements of society, to respect the rights and freedoms of his fellow men and to substitute peaceful collaboration for enmity and conflict. Ludwig von Mises division-of-labor rights men The struggle for freedom is not the struggle of the many against the few, but of minorities, sometimes of a minority of but one man gainst the majority. Ludwig von Mises survival struggle men Free markets. What does this system mean? The answer is simple: it is the market economy, it is the system in which the cooperation of individuals in the social division of labor is achieved by the market. Ludwig von Mises division-of-labor simple mean The characteristic mark of this age of dictators, wars and revolutions is its anticapitalistic bias. Most governments and political parties were eager to restrict the sphere of private initiative and free enterprise. Ludwig von Mises party government war What makes small business develop into big business is not spending, but saving and capital accumulation. Ludwig von Mises small-business saving bigs It is impossible to describe any human action if one does not refer to the meaning the actor sees in the stimulus as well as in the end his response is aiming at. Ludwig von Mises actors action doe The meaning of economic freedom is this: that the individual is in a position to choose the way in which he wants to integrate himself into the totality of society. Ludwig von Mises economic want way The luxury of today is the necessity of tomorrow. Every advance first comes into being as the luxury of a few rich people, only to become, after a time, an indispensable necessity taken for granted by everyone. Luxury consumption provides industry with the stimulus to discover and introduce new, things. It is one of the dynamic factors in our economy. To it we owe the progressive innovations by which the standard of living of all strata of the population has been gradually raised. Ludwig von Mises luxury taken people What generates war is the economic philosophy of nationalism: embargoes, trade and foreign exchange controls, monetary devaluation, etc. The philosophy of protectionism is a philosophy of war. Ludwig von Mises freedom philosophy war To assign to everybody his proper place in society is the task of the consumers. Their buying and abstention from buying is instrumental in determining each individual's social position. Ludwig von Mises individual tasks buying
