Ludwig von Mises ( 10 of 64 )
The first condition for the establishment of perpetual peace is the general adoption of the principles of laissez-faire capitalism.
The first condition for the establishment of perpetual peace is the general adoption of the principles of laissez-faire capitalism.
The methods of the natural sciences cannot be applied to human behavior because this behavior...lacks the peculiarity that characterizes events read more
The methods of the natural sciences cannot be applied to human behavior because this behavior...lacks the peculiarity that characterizes events in the field of the natural sciences, viz., regularity.
If the small minority of enlightened citizens who are able to conceive sound principles of political management do not succeed read more
If the small minority of enlightened citizens who are able to conceive sound principles of political management do not succeed in winning the support of their fellow citizens and converting them to the endorsement of policies that bring and preserve prosperity, the cause of mankind and civilization is hopeless. There is no other means to safeguard a propitious development of human affairs than to make the masses of inferior people adopt the ideas of the elite. This has to be achieved by convincing them. It cannot be accomplished by a despotic regime that instead of enlightening the masses beats them into submission. In the long run the ideas of the majority, however detrimental they may be, will carry on. The future of mankind depends on the ability of the elite to influence public opinion in the right direction.
The essence of democracy is not that everyone makes and administers laws but that lawgivers and rulers should be dependent read more
The essence of democracy is not that everyone makes and administers laws but that lawgivers and rulers should be dependent on the people's will in such a way that they may be peaceably changed if conflict occurs.
People do not cooperate under the division of labor because they love or should love one another. They cooperate because read more
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. Neither love nor charity nor any other sympathetic sentiments but rightly understood selfishness is what originally impelled man to adjust himself to the requirements of society, to respect the rights and freedoms of his fellow men and to substitute peaceful collaboration for enmity and conflict.
Historical knowledge is indispensable for those who want to build a better world.
Historical knowledge is indispensable for those who want to build a better world.
A nation's policy form an integral whole. Foreign policy and domestic policy are closely linked together; they are but one read more
A nation's policy form an integral whole. Foreign policy and domestic policy are closely linked together; they are but one system; they condition each other.
The criterion of truth is that it works even if nobody is prepared to acknowledge it.
The criterion of truth is that it works even if nobody is prepared to acknowledge it.
Society is joint action and cooperation in which each participant sees the other partner's success as a means for the read more
Society is joint action and cooperation in which each participant sees the other partner's success as a means for the attainment of his own.
It is impossible to understand the history of economic thought if one does not pay attention to the fact that read more
It is impossible to understand the history of economic thought if one does not pay attention to the fact that economics as such is a challenge to the conceit of those in power.
