Comments (28)

• Kalev Kallemets

• Yes, last week we had the presentation of Mises' Liberalism in Estonian translated by me and Kalev Kukk (economic advisor to PM Ansip). The event was in the largest Estonian bookstore and got lot of mass media attention.

  PM Ansip has been quoting Mises a lot recently and read the "Liberalism" recently.

  Taavi Rõivas (member of parliament) and myself have been educated at Mises University.

  regards

  Kalev
  from Estonia

• Published: January 22, 2008 9:54 AM

• Inquisitor

• It seems Mises' ideas are undergoing a full resurrection even in the political scene.

• Published: January 22, 2008 10:10 AM

• KelThuz

• Congratulations, Estonia! Again :>

• Published: January 22, 2008 10:21 AM

• fundamentalist

• That's exciting! Show us the way, Estonia!

• Published: January 22, 2008 10:36 AM

• JAMES B. PHILLIPS

• Please support Christopher Bollyn, top international investigator of 9-11and other very important matters and his Wife Helje Kaskel who hails from Estonia and has fought with her husband to gain exposure of the terribly trajic and criminal sinking of the Estonia (and the subsequent criminal cover-up of same) and compensation for the survivors' kin. See www.elaestonia.org and www.bollyn.com and please include it in your links. Thank you kindly.
  JAMES B. PHILLIPS
  

• Published: January 22, 2008 11:01 AM

• Mehmet

• You should be proud to have a president that actually read this book. Maybe Putin should get a copy of it in Russian. We have this and other Mises books published and translated in my home country Turkey but I doubt that our president will ever get close to even hearing about Mises...

• Published: January 22, 2008 2:21 PM

• Bruce Koerber

• Won't that be an interesting meeting between Heads of State - President Ron Paul and Prime Minister Andrus Ancip.

  No planning and scheming just encouragement and friendship!

  I send my warm greetings to you Mr. Ancip!

• Published: January 22, 2008 2:26 PM

• Olev

• Now we have government members, Mart Laar, former Prime Minister, Anrdus Ansip, the current Prime Minister, Kalev Kukk, Economic Advisor, and Taavi Rõivas, MP, who are students of Mises. This is encouraging. They ought to get together with U.S. Congressman Ron Paul and share notes. Here at last is a country where we can hope that true capitalism, the way Mises envisioned it, can flourish. Elagu Eesti!

• Published: January 22, 2008 2:46 PM

• Bruce Koerber

• Dear Olev,

  Thank you for more details. I remember Yuri Maltsev telling me about Estonia and I am very excited to see that Estonia is still as he described it.

  With warm greetings,
  Bruce Koerber

• Published: January 22, 2008 3:05 PM

• Mike

• Wow, I am speechless. What an encouraging photo.

• Published: January 22, 2008 3:19 PM

• Ben

• [i]Maybe Putin should get a copy of it in Russian.[/i]

  Putin would think it was a comedic novel.

• Published: January 22, 2008 4:04 PM

• Allan Juranek

• What's the best way to invest in Estonia?

• Published: January 22, 2008 5:46 PM

• Allan Juranek

• Heck, what's the best way to MOVE to Estonia?

• Published: January 22, 2008 5:51 PM

• Peter

• Trouble is, Estonia joined the EU :(
  See what happened to IceGold...

• Published: January 23, 2008 3:41 AM

• kah eestlane

• Sorry to say it about my home country, but it's not so bright as it may look. This year, Estonian government will rise salaries of "public servants" 10 to 40 per cent. Also, 2500 additional "public servants" will be hired, mostly in welfare and defense - for information, our population is 1,3 million. Also, of acitve workforce estimated about 600 000, only 400 000 are employed in private businesses. Our housing bubble has risen a price of 70 square meter flat to about 200 000 USD while average net salary (monthly) is 700 USD. This year will also see rise of excise taxes. Adventures alongside with US in Afghanistan and Iraq will continue indefinitely (4 casualties so far). Well... there's still hope that our PM will actually read the book, not just pose holding it. Sihuke kuradi lugu, vat!

• Published: January 23, 2008 3:59 AM

• Olev

• Yes, there is no denying that Estonia has a long way to go. Soviet indoctrination was so intense that it is difficult for many to not remain influenced by it. I don't think that 17 years is enough time to re-wire the system. Mart Laar made an excellent start but it will still probably take a generation or two. The seeds of freedom that have been and are being planted now will hopefully start to grow. Look at the challenges Ron Paul is facing and how long he has been fighting. It is unlikely that he will rise very much further than he has but his followers will undoubtedly take up the torch and continue the struggle. In the US it will be hard to re-wire all the damage that has been done since Lincoln. It will be the same with Estonia having just come out from under communism. However, we cannot give up - ever!

• Published: January 23, 2008 8:21 AM

• lester

• kah eestlane- why mess with a winning formula? very discouraging

• Published: January 23, 2008 10:08 AM

• Olev

• Yes, there is no denying that Estonia has a long way to go. Soviet indoctrination was so intense that it is difficult for many to not remain influenced by it. I don't think that 17 years is enough time to re-wire the system. Mart Laar made an excellent start but it will still probably take a generation or two. The seeds of freedom that have been and are being planted now will hopefully start to grow. Look at the challenges Ron Paul is facing and how long he has been fighting. It is unlikely that he will rise very much further than he has but his followers will undoubtedly take up the torch and continue the struggle. In the US it will be hard to re-wire all the damage that has been done since Lincoln. It will be the same with Estonia having just come out from under communism. However, we cannot give up - ever!

• Published: January 23, 2008 12:19 PM

• Olev

• sorry it posted twice - must have hit the wrong key!

• Published: January 23, 2008 12:21 PM

• Robert M

• Putin would probably order he KGB to irradiate Mises...not knowing that he's no longer alive. So then he'd probably irradiate the store where he got the book.

• Published: January 23, 2008 1:23 PM

• kisanri

• The current Danish PM; Anders F. Rasmussen used to be a fan of Mises, he even wrote a book detailing how Denmark could move from a wellfare state to a minimal/night watcher state, relying on Mises and Hayek even interacting with Rothbard. Well after 15 years of political life you have to look hard to find whats left.

  Maybe Estonia has a better shot but you have to convince the people or they will vote in one interventionist after the other.

• Published: January 23, 2008 2:16 PM

• Allan Juranek

• Well, as long as you don't lose your right to Habeas Corpus, ya'll are doing much better than we are here.

• Published: January 23, 2008 3:59 PM

• Leandro Ostuni

• I don´t know whether estonian goverment follows the Mises´s doctrines or not, but at least someone in the goverment knows about a guy named Mises who wrote a book ,Liberalism , that says something different from the political correctness that poisoned the mind of millions arround the planet.

  Here in my country, Argentina, no only nobody in the goverment follows Mises (or something similiar to the austrians doctrines, literaly the oposite is the current situation) but what is worse almost nobody (neither politicians nor economists, students, businessmen ) knows that LV Mises had ever existed... obviuosly only a very few people, inwhich have read this book and/or other of the Mises books

  Fortunately for my mental sanity I´m included in this very small group of argentine austrians who has read no only Mises but Rothbad, Hoppe, Reisman etc.

• Published: January 23, 2008 6:40 PM

• Olev

• ... and that's how it starts. A small group of fanatics like us talk to others. We tell people about the Austrian school. We invite people to look at the videos, read the literature, and listen to the audio. It's like anything. We have to sell the idea and sooner or later it starts to catch on - especially when people start to question: "In spite of all the intervention in the economy and the rest of life, why doesn't it all still work?" May be the common denominator in all this is the intervention. Stop the intervention and things start to turn around. Easier said than done. So keep selling the dream!

• Published: January 24, 2008 11:29 AM

• Paul Vahur

• Hello, I'm quite sure that Mr. Ansip has read the book, on the book presentation he quoted Liberalism from several different places regarding labor market. He also mentioned that he read it.

  In general governments role in Estonia is slowly growing (like it naturally is). Currently the liberals in Estonia try to slow the growth and in future go on offensive.

  
  Paul Vahur
  Estonian Free Society Institute

  P.S. Olev ja "kah eestlane" palun e-mailige mulle. Meil on järgmine kolmapäev klubi-õhtu ja räägime Mises'st. Oleks meeldiv teiega tuttavaks saada! paul.vahur at gmail

• Published: January 24, 2008 12:08 PM

• Jon Robinson

• this makes me happy.

• Published: January 24, 2008 1:26 PM

• Ricardo Flores

• I should give a copy to Chavez

• Published: January 24, 2008 6:56 PM

• Peter Manousakos

• I'd love to write about this man. It's fascinating and ironic how these new republics are moving toward classic liberalism while the western world abandons it. I read through his platform and it does include several social entitlements but as this is a nascent economy, I can certainly understand if the intention is to slowly wean his people away from such programs.

• Published: November 18, 2008 3:12 PM