About Us

 "How does a world-class think tank end up in east Alabama? ...having such an outfit so far away from the country's usual hubs is in itself a rejection of the central planning and authority Mises spent his life fighting. He might never have visited Auburn, but something tells me he wouldn't have put this institute any other place."

Kyle Wingfield, Wall Street Journal, August 4, 2006. , August 4, 2006

The Ludwig von Mises Institute is the research and educational center of classical liberalism, libertarian political theory, and the Austrian School of economics. Working in the intellectual tradition of Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) and Murray N. Rothbard (1926-1995), with a vast array of publications, programs, and fellowships, the Mises Institute, with offices in Auburn, Alabama, seeks a radical shift in the intellectual climate as the foundation for a renewal of the free and prosperous commonwealth.

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

It is the mission of the Mises Institute to restore a high place for theory in economics and the social sciences, encourage a revival of critical historical research, and draw attention to neglected traditions in Western philosophy. In this cause, the Mises Institute works to advance the Austrian School of economics and the Misesian tradition, and, in application, defends the market economy, private property, sound money, and peaceful international relations, while opposing government intervention as economically and socially destructive.

History

In December 1981, Ludwig von Mises's widow Margit gave her approval to found the Mises Institute. It was formally established in October 1982 and located in Auburn, Alabama, with founder Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. serving as president. With the support of Margit von Mises, who chaired the board until her death in 1993, and such giants as F.A. Hayek, Lawrence Fertig, Henry Hazlitt, and Murray N. Rothbard, who headed its academic programs until his death in 1995, the Mises Institute has grown into the leading scholarly center for research and teaching in the Austrian School of economics, as well as an important research center for classical liberalism and libertarianism.

The Mises Institute has 275 faculty members working with it on one or more academic projects. With their help, and thousands of donors in 50 states and 64 foreign countries, the Institute has held more than 500 teaching conferences, including the Mises University, and seminars on subjects from monetary policy to the history of war, as well as international and interdisciplinary Austrian Scholars Conferences. From these programs, the Institute has sponsored many book and hundreds of scholarly papers, in addition to thousands of published popular articles on economic and historical issues.

The Mises Institute publishes books by Ludwig von Mises and other new and old works by Austrian economists and historians, maintains the complete Mises bibliography, manages the archive and literary rights of Murray N. Rothbard, and publishes six periodicals, including two academic journals and a scholarly review of literature. The in-house Massey and Ward Libraries are a multilingual collection of more than 30,000 volumes, including Rothbard's personal library, which makes it one of the most extensive specialized collections of its kind in North America.

The Mises Institute website, Mises.org, went online in 1995. A reliable and stable research tool, it features working papers, study guides, bibliographies, biographies, e-books, publication archives, a calendar of events, fellowship applications, audio and video downloads, foreign language materials, a faculty directory, research tools, daily editorials, local on-site library access, and an online catalog of publications. Mises.org provides open access, is linked from classrooms and libraries around the world, and has earned a far higher Alexa ranking than any market-oriented non-profit in the world.

The Institute has produced documentary films: "Liberty and Economics: The Ludwig von Mises Legacy"; "The Future of Austrian Economics"; and "Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve." The Institute has also published or subsidized the publication of 125 books and monographs, from Man, Economy, and State to Theory and History and Human Action, and distributes a scholarly book catalog in Austrian economics. Altogether, the Institute has distributed six and a half million books, journals, monographs, newsletters, audio tapes, and video tapes throughout the world.

Helping students to discover the economics of freedom, and inspiring them to go on to teach at the university level, is perhaps the Institute's most important program. Since 1985, the Institute has held Mises University summer schools for students from all over America and the world, and has assisted 10,000 students at more then 1000 colleges and universities with aid ranging from one-year book scholarships to full multi-year PhD fellowships. Altogether, it has reached millions of students at all levels.

In 1998, The Mises Institute moved into a facility at 518 West Magnolia Avenue that houses an extensive and unique library in the social sciences. The building was extended in 2000-2001 to accommodate the need for more library and faculty space. You can take a virtual tour with images in 360 degrees. Developmental emphasis for the future includes increases in on-site faculty chairs, summer-long programs, year-round internships and post-doc research facilities, and distance-learning certificates. Publishing projects include original and traditional Austrian works, the collected letters of Murray Rothbard, translations of classic Austrian writings, as well as broad periodical distribution.

Activities

The Institute is named to honor the life and work of Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973). In six decades of teaching and writing, he reconstructed economic theory and method on a sound basis of individual human action and showed that government intervention is always destructive, whether through welfare, inflation, taxation, regulation, or war. His vision of the free and prosperous commonwealth is carried forward in all the work of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

Seven Periodicals Our monthly The Free Market examines the economic and political scene from a classical-liberal viewpoint. The Austrian Economics Newsletter links our academic network with in-depth interviews. The Mises Review surveys new books. The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics (the successor journal to the Review of Austrian Economics), is the premier setting for new research and ideas in economics. The Journal of Libertarian Studies is the scholarly venue for political theory and applications. And The Mises Memo covers issues and legislation, plus conferences and publications of the Mises Institute.

Fellowships Through our Fellowships, we give top students of the Austrian School the practical support and intellectual tools they need to thrive in today's academic setting. We provide books and periodicals, internships, academic counseling, and financial assistance to help them become the professors and intellectual leaders of tomorrow. In-house fellowships are available for dissertation writing and post-doc work.

Research Serious scholarly work in economic theory and intellectual history does not receive the support it deserves from large foundations. To fill this crucial gap, the Mises Institute offers long-term grants for in-depth research in the Austrian tradition. Among the projects currently being backed are studies in U.S. banking history, the economics of cryptography, the viability of currency boards, and biographical studies of the Austrian School's major figures and their role in intellectual history.

Online Research Aids Mises.org's Scholars Page features online books, the Austrian Study Guide, a complete online resource of Austrian School literature, linked to online articles, where possible; the complete searchable text to Human Action(3/4th edition) among many other writings by Mises; out-out-print classics by Austrian scholars; constantly updated Working Papers; and the complete and searchable Mises Bibliography and Rothbard Bibliography.

Teaching We sponsor the world's finest teaching programs, including the annual Mises University, the History of Liberty Teaching Seminar, the Human Action Seminar, and the Rothbard Graduate Seminar attracting the best students from the U.S. and around the world. Thanks to outstanding curricula and faculty, our alumni rank among the best economists, historians, and philosophers working today.

Academic Meetings The Austrian Scholars Conference is the annual professional meeting where new papers in the Misesian tradition are presented and debated, and faculty and students are able to escape the politicized environments of their home campuses. We also hold regular scholarly conferences on economics, history, philosophy, and law, as well as private colloquia exploring new avenues of research.

Academic Awards The Schlarbaum Prize for lifetime defense of liberty, given every year, awards $10,000 to a public intellectual or distinguished scholar. The Kurzweg Family Prize awards $5,000 for the defense of liberty, property, and personal responsibility. The Elgin Groseclose Award, a $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle, goes to the best piece of money writing in the previous year. The Lawrence W. Fertig Prize in Austrian Economics awards $1,000 to the author of a paper that best advances economic science in the Austrian tradition. The O.P. Alford III Prize in Libertarian Scholarship awards $1,000 to the author of the paper best advances libertarian scholarship.

Books The Mises Institute publishes important new books and reprints classics, including The Scholar's Edition of Human Action; Man, Economy, and State; The Case Against the Fed; The Costs of War; and Theory and History; among fifty other titles. Our book catalog, The Library of the Austrian School, makes them available to students and the public.

Commentary The Mises Institute balances the social-democratic domination of public debate with major newspapers and magazines featuring Mises Institute articles. Mises.org's Daily Articles are linked and reprinted the world over. In-box subscriptions are distributed at no charge (current subscribers 20,000). Our speakers' program spreads a pro-liberty message on talk shows and at conferences and meetings around the country and the world.

Audio and Video All our conferences on such diverse topics as welfare, bureaucracy, war, and monetary reform, as well as our weekly seminars, are available on tape. And we've produced award-winning films, including one on Mises and another on the misdeeds of the Federal Reserve System. Mises.org offers .mp3 files of Mises speaking and Rothbard teaching, as well as complete audio files of selected conferences (again, at no charge). The Mises Media page includes the remarkable series of lectures Robert LeFevre Commentaries.

Mises Institute Campus Our library and research facilities in Auburn, Alabama provide a huge, multilingual collection of books and special collections (see the Ward Library), scholarly archives (papers of Ludwig von Mises, Murray N. Rothbard, Robert LeFevre, and John William Lloyd), ongoing seminars, and a collegial atmosphere for completing dissertations, doing post-doc work, helping with translations and other projects, or using sabbatical time to do Austrian work.

Publishing Opportunities

Daily Articles: This venue features shorter articles (700-3000 words) that employ Austrian theory and practice to illuminate current or historical events. These articles, which reach 12,000 subscribers in their in-boxes every day, require clarity of thought and exposition. They are permanently archived and eventually reach hundreds of thousands. The more steeped in the Austrian tradition, the better. Footnotes are fine but not required, but internal links are much preferred. Write the editor.

The Free Market: This monthly journal interprets current policy and events in light of Austrian theory and free-market policy. The editor seeks articles that are pithy, rigorous, provocative, and deal with enduring themes. Preferred length: 1500 words. Write the editor.

Working Papers: These are unpublished academic papers in process. Submissions follow standard scholarly format with footnotes and citations, and include complete author information including affiliation and email address. They are published as sent once rendered into PDF format. There is an informal review process. The papers are read by Austrian scholars, students, and interested people all over the world. Write the editor.

The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics: This refereed journal considers articles that promote the development and extension of Austrian economics and that promote the analysis of contemporary issues in the mainstream of economics from an Austrian perspective. Write the editor.

The Journal of Libertarian Studies: Founded in 1977, this referred journal is the primary venue for reconstruction of the history of ideas and politics in terms of libertarianism. Write the editor.

LewRockwell.com: the personal website of Institute founder and president Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., affiliated with the Center for Libertarian Studies, which publishes a wide range of commentary on current affairs. Write the editor.

Senior Faculty

A Message from the President

Political action is no substitute for a real long-term revolution in ideas. The Mises Institute was founded to make that possible, and we're succeeding through a huge range of programs that have served students, scholars, and professionals all over the world. By advancing the Austrian School and the scholarship of liberty, the Institute is bringing about change for the better. But we need your help as a Member. The free society needs fearless and passionate defenders in all walks of life.

Please Join Us

For as little as $50 a year, you can become a Member of the Mises Institute and join our work for the free society. You will receive The Free Market, The Mises Memo, and other publications, as well as the gratitude of the students and teachers of liberty. Please note: the Mises Institute is funded entirely by voluntary contributions, from individuals, businesses, and foundations.

The Mises Institute is an equal opportunity employer. Down load our policy in English or Spanish.

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