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OMNIPOTENT GOVERNMENT- The Rise of the Total State and Total War BY
Ludwig von Mises. Preface: IN dealing with the problems of social
and economic policies, the social sciences consider only one
question whether the measures suggested are really suited to
bringing about the effects sought by their authors, or whether they
result in a state of affairs which from the viewpoint of their
supporters is even more undesirable than the previous state which
it was in tended to alter. The economist does not substitute his
own judg ment about the desirability of ultimate ends for that of
his fellow citizens. He merely asks whether the ends sought by
nations, gov ernments, political parties, and pressure groups can
indeed be at tained by the methods actually chosen for their
realization. It is, to be sure, a thankless task. Most people are
intolerant of any criticism of their social and economic tenets.
They do not understand that the objections raised refer only to
unsuitable methods and do not dispute the ultimate ends of their
efforts. They are not prepared to admit the possibility that they
might attain their ends more easily by following the economists
advice than by disregarding it. They call an enemy of their nation,
race, or group anyone who ventures to criticize their cherished
policies. This stubborn dogmatism is pernicious and one of the root
causes of the present state of world affairs. An economist who as
serts that minimum wage rates are not the appropriate means of
raising the wage earners standard of living is neither a labor
baiter nor an enemy of the workers. On the contrary, in suggesting
more suitable methods for the improvement of the wage earners
material well-being, hecontributes as much as he can to a genuine
promotion of their prosperity. To point out the advantages which
everybody derives from the working of capitalism is not tantamount
to defending the vested interests of the capitalists. An economist
who forty or fifty years ago advocated the preservation of the
system of private property and free enterprise did not fight for
the selfish class interests of the then rich. He wanted a free hand
left to those unknown among his penniless contemporaries who had
the ingenuity to develop all those new industries which today
render the life of the common man more pleasant. Many pioneers of
these industrial changes, it is true, became rich. But they
acquired their wealth by supplying the public with motor cars,
airplanes, radio sets, refrigerators, moving and talking pictures,
and a variety of less spectacular but iv Omnipotent Government no
less useful innovations. These new products were certainly not an
achievement of offices and bureaucrats. Not a single technical
improvement can be credited to the Soviets. The best that the
Russians have achieved was to copy some of the improvements of the
capitalists whom they continue to disparage. Mankind has not
reached the stage of ultimate technological perfection. There is
ample room for further progress and for further improvement of the
standards of living. The creative and inventive spirit subsists
notwithstanding all assertions to the contrary. But it flourishes
only where there is economic freedom. Neither is an economist who
demonstrates that a nation let us call it Thule hurts its own
essential interests in its conduct of foreign-trade policies and in
its dealing with domestic minority groups, a foe ofThule and its
people...
"It is impossible to grasp the meaning of the idea of sound money
if one does not realize that it was devised as an instrument for
the protection of civil liberties against despotic inroads on the
part of governments." - from "The Theory of Money and Credit"
Originally published in 1912, Ludwig von Mises's "The Theory of
Money and Credit" remains today one of economic theory's most
influential and controversial treatises. Von Mises's examination
into monetary theory changed forever the world of economic thought
when he successfully integrated "macroeconomics" into
"microeconomics" --previously deemed an impossible task --as well
as offering explanations into the origin, value and future of
money.
One hundred years later, von Mises and the Austrian school of
economic theory are still fiercely debated by world economists in
their search for the solution to America's current financial
crisis. His theorems continue to inspire politicians and market
experts who aim to raise up the common man and reduce the financial
power of governments. In a preface added in 1952, von Mises urges
the people of the world to see economic truth:
"The great inflations of our age are not acts of God. They are
man-made or, to say it bluntly, government-made. They are the
off-shoots of doctrines that ascribe to governments the magic power
of creating wealth out of nothing and of making people happy by
raising the 'national income.'"
"The best book on money ever written." --Murray Rothbard, economist
and historian
"The greatest economist of the twentieth century." --Sandeep
Jaitly, economist
This is a new release of the original 1949 edition.
Economist and philosopher, Ludwig von Mises present his "Theory of
Money and Credit" by first looking at the nature and value of
money, why there is a demand for money, and how it is used as
currency. He goes on to explain the purchasing power of money and
how it determines economic and monetary policy, often in a way that
results in financial melt-downs.
LARGE PRINT EDITION More at LargePrintLiberty.com
In 1956, the Mont Pelerin Society was entering a difficult period
in which its intellectual lights were drifting away from liberalism
of the old school. Ludwig von Mises used his speech that year to
explain why this was a terrible trend. He didn't rebuke anyone.
What he did was back away from the events of the day to provide a
sweeping reconstruction of economic history from the ancient world
to the present. He provided a model of how to think outside one's
own generation to understand the really big issues and the moral
and practical urgency of embracing total freedom. The result is an
essay for the ages. It is profound, visionary, and compelling
beyond belief. Would that every undergraduate, or even citizen,
read this piece. In here, Mises describes the revolutionary meaning
of capitalism in human history, and how it was responsible for the
most spectacular increases in the standard of living of the common
man ever. It was mass production that lead people to live longer,
healthier, and happier lives. Contemporary reports from the event
in which he delivered this paper suggest that the people there were
uninterested in Mises's point of view, but this is much to their
shame. For what he left us with remains one of the most dazzling
presentations of the case for economic liberty ever written. It is
the perfect combination of high intelligence, vast historical
understanding, and moral passion.
This is a new release of the original 1960 edition.
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