War prosperity is like the prosperity that an earthquake or a plague brings. Ludwig von Mises More Quotes by Ludwig von Mises More Quotes From Ludwig von Mises In a battle between force and an idea, the latter always prevails. Ludwig von Mises forcebattleideas The main characteristic of collectivism is that it does not take notice of the individual's will and moral self-determination. In the light of its philosophy the individual is born into a collective and it is "natural" and proper for him to behave as members of this collective are expected to behave. Expected by whom? Of course, by those individuals to whom, by the mysterious decrees of some mysterious agency, the task of determining the collective will and directing the actions of the collective has been entrusted. Ludwig von Mises agencydeterminationphilosophy Socialism is not an alternative to capitalism; it is an alternative to any system under which men can live as human beings. Ludwig von Mises alternativespoliticsmen The common man is the sovereign consumer whose buying or abstention from buying ultimately determines what should be produced and in what quantity and quality. Ludwig von Mises qualitylibertymen Liberty is meaningless if it is only the liberty to agree with those in power. Ludwig von Mises agreelibertyifs The final outcome of the credit expansion is general impoverishment. Ludwig von Mises expansioncreditfinals If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other benefits from the treasury, democracy is done for. Ludwig von Mises salaryreceivingdemocracy 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. Ludwig von Mises love-one-anotherdivision-of-laborpeople Without calculation, economic activity is impossible. Since under Socialism economic calculation is impossible, under Socialism there can be no economic activity in our sense of the word All economic change, therefore, would involve operations the value of which could neither be predicted beforehand nor ascertained after they had taken place. Everything would be a leap in the dark. Socialism is the renunciation of rational economy. Ludwig von Mises takenwould-bedark Depression is the aftermath of credit expansion. Ludwig von Mises aftermathexpansioncredit When we call a capitalist society a consumers democracy we mean that the power to dispose of the means of production, which belongs to the entrepreneurs and capitalists, can only be acquired by means of the consumers ballot, held daily in the marketplace. Ludwig von Mises entrepreneurlibertymean If the practice persists of covering government deficits with the issue of notes, then the day will come without fail, sooner or later, when the monetary systems of those nations pursuing this course will break down completely. The purchasing power of the monetary unit will decline more and more, until finally it disappears completely. Ludwig von Mises disappear-completelygovernmentpractice Both force and money are impotent against ideas. Ludwig von Mises forceideas The state is essentially an apparatus of compulsion and coercion. The characteristic feature of its activities is to compel people through the application or the threat of force to behave otherwise than they would like to behave. Ludwig von Mises libertarianlibertypeople Progressive taxation of income and profits means that precisely those parts of the income which people would have saved and invested are taxed away Ludwig von Mises progressive-taxationmeanpeople True, governments can reduce the rate of interest in the short run. They can issue additional paper money. They can open the way to credit expansion by the banks. They can thus create an artificial boom and the appearance of prosperity. But such a boom is bound to collapse soon or late and to bring about a depression. Ludwig von Mises issuesgovernmentrunning Economics must not be relegated to classrooms and statistical offices and must not be left to esoteric circles. It is the philosophy of human life and action and concerns everybody and everything. It is the pith of civilization and of man's human existence. Ludwig von Mises menphilosophycivilization Big business always serve - directly or indirectly - the masses. Ludwig von Mises big-businessmassbigs The flowering of human society depends on two factors: the intellectual power of outstanding men to conceive sound social and economic theories, and the ability of these or other men to make these ideologies palatable to the majority. Ludwig von Mises mentwoideas It is not the fault of the entrepreneurs that the consumers,the people, the common man,prefer liquor to Bibles and detective stories to serious books, and that governments prefer guns to butter. The entrepreneur does not make greater profits in selling bad things than in selling good things. His profits are the greater the better he succeeds in providing the consumers with those things they ask for most intensely. Ludwig von Mises gunmenbook
