Kim Monson's Quote of the Day:
February 21, 2024
The champions of socialism call themselves progressives, but they recommend a system which is characterized by rigid observance of routine and by a resistance to every kind of improvement. They call themselves liberals, but they are intent upon abolishing liberty. They call themselves democrats, but they yearn for dictatorship. They call themselves revolutionaries, but they want to make the government omnipotent. They promise the blessings of the Garden of Eden, but they plan to transform the world into a gigantic post office. Every man but one a subordinate clerk in a bureau.
Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was a towering figure in the field of economics and a key proponent of the Austrian School of economic thought. Born in Lemberg, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Lviv, Ukraine), Mises made significant contributions to the understanding of the price system, economic calculation, and the critique of socialism. His work emphasized the importance of individual choice, free-market capitalism, and the dangers of government intervention in the economy. Mises argued that only a market economy could efficiently allocate resources through the price mechanism, and he famously critiqued socialism for its inability to perform economic calculation without a price system, leading to inefficiency and resource misallocation. His seminal works, including “Human Action” and “Socialism,” have had a profound influence on libertarian thought and the development of free-market economics. Mises’ legacy endures through his profound impact on economic theory and policy.
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