In Nation, State, and Economy Ludwig von Mises defines a nation as a people group who all speak the same language, even while understanding that shared history, culture, and ancestry contribute to national identity. Mises also distinguishes between nation and state, arguing that a nation is a self-aware community, while a state rules over them.

Joseph Schumpeter, in Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942), offered a starkly realistic definition of democracy: it is not the rule of the people by the people, but “that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.” In this view, democracy functions as an elite contest, politicians and their coalitions vie for office, much like firms compete in a market.

The United States is rapidly heading toward a future that will require a decision from political authorities and elites of all types. The choice will be between peaceful radical decentralization—possibly including secession—on the one hand. On the other hand will be a ratcheting up of coercion and enforced “unity” to ensure political centralization. 

When it comes to production, capitalism and socialism are often presented as constituting extremes of a spectrum of economic organization, where control over the means of production is either entirely in the hands of profit-seeking private owners (the capitalists) at one extreme or in the hands central planners (supposedly acting for the benefit of society according to socialists) at the other extreme.

[The Influence and Significance of Human Action After 75 Years edited by Joseph T. Salerno (Mises Institute, 2026; v +256 pp.)]

The Mises Institute held a conference in 2024 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the publication of Human Action in 1949; and, in the present volume, the papers presented at that conference have been published. The contributors to the book reflect the vast scope of the book about which they have written.