How Can Europe Survive

Hans F. Sennholz

Like a coin on whose two sides two different symbols are impressed, government planning and the disintegration of the world market are two aspects of a single problem. The upper side of the coin, visible and familiar to everybody, shows the fascinating picture of a welfare state designed by our welfare economists and put into effect by progressive governments. The other side of the coin reveals a picture that indicates the price, expressed in terms of economic nationalism and international conflict, which must be paid for the realization of the welfare state. That is to say, every welfare measure by a national government bears inescapable effects on foreign relations and the international exchange of goods.

How Can Europe Survive by Hans Sennholz
Meet the Author
Hans Sennholz
Hans F. Sennholz

Hans F. Sennholz (1922-2007) was Ludwig von Mises's first PhD student in the United States. He taught economics at Grove City College, 1956–1992, having been hired as department chair upon arrival. After he retired, he became president of the Foundation for Economic Education, where he served from 1992-1997. He was an adjunct scholar of the Mises Institute, and in October 2004 was awarded the Gary G. Schlarbaum Prize for lifetime defense of liberty.

Mises Daily Hans F. Sennholz
The German inflation of 1914–1923 had an inconspicuous beginning, a creeping rate of one to two percent, writes Hans Sennholz. On the first day of the war, the German Reichsbank, like the other central banks of the belligerent powers, suspended redeemability of its notes in order to prevent a run on its gold reserves. Like all the other banks, it offered assistance to the central government in financing the war effort. Since taxes are always unpopular, the German government preferred to borrow the needed amounts of money rather than raise its taxes substantially. To this end it was readily assisted by the Reichsbank, which discounted most treasury obligations.
Mises Daily Hans F. Sennholz
[This article originally appeared in The Freeman, October 1969.] Although the Great Depression engulfed the world economy many years ago, it lives on as a nightmare for individuals old enough to...
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References

NY: D. Van Nostrand, 1955