In this short biographical entry on Ludwig von Mises, never before published, Murray Rothbard recounts a great man’s life and work, and explains his significance to the world of ideas and the history of his time and ours. “Mises concluded that the only viable economic policy for the human race was a policy of unrestricted laissez-faire, of free markets and the unhampered exercise of the right of private property, with government strictly limited to the defense of person and property within its territorial area.” Full Article
Source link: http://blog.mises.org/3881/ludwig-von-mises-1881-1973/
Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973)
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Just a few questions:
- Why did Mises leave Austria as early as 1934? Was he afraid of a nazi takeover, or did he have problems with the Austrian regime?
- How did he travel from Switzerland to the US in 1940?
- Did he ever become a US citizen?
Thanks.
He was alarmed at the political changes in Austria and saw the threat from Germany rising. He knew liberal Jewish intellectuals would not be safe, and it was at this time that an invitation from Geneva came. But, as Guido Huelsmann writes, “In July 1940, von Mises left Geneva to avoid being captured by the German armies or being delivered to them by the Swiss government. He moved to New York City and started a new life, receiving U.S. citizenship in 1946.” More in JGH’s bio, due 1996.
“During this period, in his first great work, The Theory of Money and Credit (1912), Mises performed what had been deemed an impossible task: to integrate the theory of money into the general theory of marginal utility and price (what would now be called integrating ‘macroeconomics’ into ‘microeconomics.’) Since Bohm-Bawerk and his other Austrian colleagues did not accept Mises’s integration…”
Can someone help me? It is my understanding that Bohm-Bawerk, rather than not accepting Mises’s monetary theory, did not fully understand it. Mises’s accomplishment (which was not fully completed until the publication in 1940 of the German language predecessor to Human Action) was path breaking, and given the state of Bohm-Bawerk’s health at the time (1912), it is not hard to understand why he would have trouble understanding Mises’s contribution.
Can anyone point me to some reference material where Bohm-Bawerk states and, more importantly, elaborates his opposition to Mises’s monetary theory?
I have just received a copy of Mises’ “Die Bürokratie”, and the preface includes a brief biography of the author. Apparently Mises left Switzerland in spring 1940 via France, just while France was being overrun by the Wehrmacht. Does anyone know where I can find a good biography of Mises?
There are gobs of articles here from many writers that together form an informative portrait. Kirzner has an extended essay in book form. Meanwhile the definitive work, 8 years in the research and writing, is due out next year from Jorg Guido Hulsmann.
Bruno,
You should also read Mises’s intellectual autobiography, “Notes and Recollection”, which was written around 1940, shortly after he emigrated to the U.S. Personally, I found this book very instructive. In addition, I believe Professor Richard Ebeling, currently President of the Foundation for Economic Education, is also working on a biography of Mises; I don’t know the details or the expected publication date.
I hope this helps, and enjoy the reading.
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