Mises about taxes and conscription

Mises, Human Action "But as conditions are in our age, a free nation is continually threatened by the aggressive schemes of totalitarian autocracies. If it wants to preserve its freedom, it must be prepared to defend its independence. If the government of a free country forces every citizen to cooperate fully in its designs to repel the aggressors and every able-bodied man to join the armed forces, it does not impose upon the individual a duty that would step beyond the tasks the praxeological law dictates. ... The maintenance of a government apparatus of courts, police officers, prisons, and of armed forces requires considerable expenditure. To levy taxes for these purposes is fully compatible with the freedom the individual enjoys in a free market economy." I thought L.Mises wasn't among utilitarian nigilists. Even M.Fridman was against conscription.

 

I think "older generations" of Austrians simply did not prioritize politics over economics.  I agree that they are one in the same, but what I'm saying is that I do not think that Mises put a lot of emphasis into the study of capitalism in its purest form, without any sort of State.  I also do not think that he thought about private security being able to repel a larger invasion.  It's similar to Benjamin Anderson, who as far as I know is considered an Austrian: in his book Economics and the Public Welfare he basically states that the Federal Reserve and all other central economic planning was absolutely necessary during the First World War.

But, given the new ideas put forth by new authors, I do not necessarily believe that they would disagree with anarcho-capitalism.

This obviously contradicts every aspect of his own economic teachings. It is impossible to integrate in any rational way the coercive elements of the Government, even in their ideal minimal state that Mises imagined. Mises never shows how a minimal government can work in any rational way. Mises has only shown why it is impossible for any rational central planning to occur. To me, Mises simply refuses to accept the full ramifications of his own economic teachings.

Not if he believed the production of law and order is a market failure, so a state is better than no state.