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Ludwig von Mises Quotes - Page 15

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It is the rule of law alone which hinders the rulers from turning themselves into the worst gangsters.

It is the rule of law alone which hinders the rulers from turning themselves into the worst gangsters.

Ludwig von Mises
Law, Worst, Gangsters
Ludwig Von Mises (1947). “Planned Chaos”, p.51, Ludwig von Mises Institute

Once it has been perceived that the division of labour is the essence of society, nothing remains of the antithesis between individual and society. The contradiction between individual principle and social principle disappears.

Ludwig von Mises
Essence, Principles, Division

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.

Ludwig von Mises
Running, Freedom, Ideas
Ludwig Von Mises (1962). “The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science: An Essay on Method”

A genius is always a teacher, never a pupil; he is always self-made.

Ludwig von Mises
Teacher, Self, Genius
Ludwig von Mises (2016). “Bureaucracy: The Economist”, p.13, VM eBooks

He who only wishes and hopes does not interfere actively with the course of events and with the shaping of his own destiny.

Ludwig von Mises
Destiny, Wish, Events
Ludwig Von Mises (1963). “Human action: a treatise on economics”

The characteristic feature of modern capitalism is mass production of goods destined for consumption by the masses. The result is a tendency towards a continuous improvement in the average standard of living, a progressing enrichment of the many.

Ludwig von Mises
Average, Progress, Improvement

Government and state can never be perfect because they owe their raison d'être to the imperfection of man and can attain their end, the elimination of man's innate impulse to violence, only by recourse to violence, the very thing they are called upon to prevent.

Ludwig von Mises
Men, Perfect, Violence
Ludwig Von Mises (1962). “The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science: An Essay on Method”

In spite of the anticapitalistic policies of all governments and of almost all political parties, the capitalist mode of production

Ludwig von Mises
Party, Government, Political
Ludwig Von Mises (1947). “Planned Chaos”

The situation of having to belong to a state to which one does not wish is no less onerous if it is the result of an election than if one must endure it as the consequence of a military conquest.

Ludwig von Mises
Military, Wish, Doe
Ludwig von Mises (2016). “Liberalism: The Classical Tradition: The Economist”, p.105, VM eBooks

No very deep knowledge of economics is usually needed for grasping the immediate effects of a measure; but the task of economics is to foretell the remoter effects, and so to allow us to avoid such acts as attempt to remedy a present ill by sowing the seeds of a much greater ill for the future.

Ludwig von Mises
Liberty, Tasks, Sowing
Ludwig von Mises (2013). “The Theory of Money and Credit”, p.14, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

Used to the conditions of a capitalistic environment, the average American takes it for granted that every year business makes something new and better accessible to him. Looking backward upon the years of his own life, he realizes that many implements that were totally unknown in the days of his youth and many others which at that time could be enjoyed only by a small minority are now standard equipment of almost every household.

Ludwig von Mises
Philosophy, Average, Years
Ludwig Von Mises (1990). “Economic freedom and interventionism: an anthology of articles and essays”

It is extremely difficult for our contemporaries to conceive of the conditions of free banking because they take government interference with banking for granted and as necessary.

Ludwig von Mises
Government, Banking, Granted
Ludwig von Mises (2016). “Human Action”, p.552, Lulu Press, Inc

Resentment is at work when one so hates somebody for his more favorable circumstances that one is prepared to bear heavy losses if only the hated one might also come to harm. Many of those who attack capitalism know very well that their situation under any other economic system will be less favorable.

Ludwig von Mises
Hate, Loss, Might
Ludwig Von Mises (1962). “The free and prosperous commonwealth: an exposition of the ideas of classical liberalism”

The class of those who have the ability to think their own thoughts is separated by an unbridgeable gulf from the class of those who cannot.

Ludwig von Mises
Thinking, Class, Ability

The bureaucrat is not free to aim at improvement. He is bound to obey rules and regulations established by a superior body. He has no right to embark upon innovations if his superiors do not approve of them. His duty and his virtue is to be obedient.

Ludwig von Mises
Innovation, Rules And Regulations, Body
Ludwig Von Mises (1969). “Bureaucracy”, ICON Group International

If the government objects to monopoly prices for new inventions, it should stop granting patents.

Ludwig von Mises
Government, Patents, New Inventions

Spontaneous actions of individuals, aiming at nothing else than at the improvement of their own state of satisfaction, undermined the prestige of the coercive status system step by step.

Ludwig von Mises
Satisfaction, Steps, Improvement
Ludwig Von Mises (1962). “The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science: An Essay on Method”

Economic knowledge necessarily leads to liberalism

Ludwig von Mises
Economic, Liberalism

There is, in fact, only one solution: the state, the government, the laws must not in any way concern themselves with schooling or education. Public funds must not be used for such purposes. The rearing and instruction of youth must be left entirely to parents and to private associations and institutions

Ludwig von Mises
Government, Law, Parent
Ludwig Von Mises (1962). “The free and prosperous commonwealth: an exposition of the ideas of classical liberalism”

Nobody can be at the same time a correct bureaucrat and an innovator

Ludwig von Mises
Innovators, Bureaucrats
Ludwig Von Mises (1944). “Bureaucracy”

Governments, political parties, pressure groups, and the bureaucrats of the educational hierarchy think they can avoid the inevitable consequences of unsuitable measures by boycotting and silencing the independent economists. But truth persists and works, even if nobody is left to utter it.

Ludwig von Mises
Educational, Party, Independent

The market economy is the social system of the division of labor under private ownership of the means of production. Everybody acts on his own behalf; but everybodys actions aim at the satisfaction of other peoples needs as well as at the satisfaction of his own. Everybody in acting serves his fellow citizens.

Ludwig von Mises
Freedom, Mean, Division Of Labor
Ludwig Von Mises (1963). “Human action: a treatise on economics”

Those politicians, professors and union bosses who curse big business are fighting for a lower standard of living.

Ludwig von Mises
Fighting, Boss, Unions
Ludwig von Mises (1985). “Theory and History”, p.147, Ludwig von Mises Institute

The vigorous man industriously striving for the improvement of his condition acts neither more nor less than the lethargic man who sluggishly takes things as they come. For to do nothing and to be idle are also action, they too determine the course of events.

Ludwig von Mises
Men, Events, Libertarian
Ludwig Von Mises (1963). “Human action: a treatise on economics”

[T]he essence of so-called war prosperity: it enriches some by what it takes from others. It is not rising wealth but a shifting of wealth and income.

Ludwig von Mises
Money, Peace, War

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