1881-1973: Ludwig von Mises Bibliography

LUDWIG VON MISES (1881-1973)

Human Action

This is Mises's masterwork; it might have been called, with more justice than the book that actually bears this title, "All and Everything." Mises begins with an assault on all varieties of "polylogism." This is the view that logic is not universal: different groups, whether classes or races, have different mentalities. In criticizing these views, Mises undermines the basis of both National Socialism and Marxism. He also dissents from the theory of Lucien L?vy-Bruhl that there is a non-logical primitive mentality.

Mises's purpose in criticizing these views is in large part to clear away an obstacle to what he considers the correct method of economic science. This is strictly deductive and non-empirical. In fact, economics is only the best developed part of a more general science of human action, which Mises terms praxeology. Economics is principally concerned with the laws governing voluntary exchanges: Mises terms the branch of praxeology which studies this catallactics.

The starting point of praxeology is the axiom of action: all men act. This is known to be true a priori, i.e., apart from experience. Although we understand the proposition through introspection, it does not require independent evidence in order to be accepted: rather, it is at once judged to be true. It should be noted that Mises defines "action" very broadly: maintaining one's present position through waiting, as well as deliberate changes in one's position, count as action.

From this axiom, Mises derives certain general truths about human action. These include the law that all action aims at increasing utility. "Utility" is here taken to be anything the individual wishes, rather than units of pleasure or happiness. Further, all action is governed by positive time preference: future satisfaction is discounted as against present satisfaction.

In the course of discussing these features of action, Mises includes a defense of utilitarianism as an ethical system. By this he does not mean a system which involves aggregating people's preferences, as favored by most conventional utilitarians. In fact, he strongly opposes any attempt to measure utility, either among separate persons or among alternatives on someone's "utility scale." Alternatives can only be ranked, not measured. Mises's "utilitarianism," then, merely expresses a belief in the importance of promoting human welfare and differs from the usual meaning of the term in contemporary philosophy.

Mises contrasts the praxeological method with the method used in the historical disciplines. His views here, in particular his modification of the methods of ideal types of his friend Max Weber, are discussed in the comments below on Theory and History. Mises also criticizes the use of mathematics in economics and regards economic statistics as useful only in explaining historical events.

The bulk of the book consists of an elaboration of economic theory through the praxeological method. Especially noteworthy here are his derivation of Ricardo's law of comparative advantage; his defense of the monetary regression theorem; his exposition of the Austrian theory of the business cycle; and his criticism of the so-called Ricardo effect. Mises replies in detail to critics of his proof that economic calculation is impossible under socialism: his argument to that effect is restated in its definitive form.

In the course of the book Mises includes a vast number of comments on historical events, ranging from Abraham Lincoln's assassination to the reasons for Swedish prosperity in World War II.

Ludwig von Mises:
An Annotated Bibliography
David Gordon