Ludwig von Mises

"Economics deals with society's fundamental problems; it concerns everyone and belongs to all. It is the main and proper study of every citizen."

Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (1881-1973) earned his doctorate in law and economics from the University of Vienna in 1906. Mises is the author of numerous book on economic theory including notably The Theory of Money and Credit, which was published in 1912. In that book Mises exposes the Austrian marginal utility theory to money. Money, according to Mises, is demanded for its usefulness in purchasing other goods, rather than for its own sake.

Mises also argued that business cycles were caused by the uncontrolled expansion of bank credit. In 1926 Mises founded the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research. His most influential student, who later developed Mises' business cycle theories, was FriedrichHayek.

Another notable contribution by Mises was his claim that socialism must fail economically. In a 1920 article Mises argued that a socialist government could not make the economic calculations required to organize a complex economy efficiently. Modern economists agree that Mises' argument, combined with Hayek's elaboration of it, is correct.

In his magnum opus, Human Action, Mises proposes that economic truths are derived from self-evident axioms and cannot be empirically tested. Mises points out that the whole economy is the result of what individuals do. Individuals act, choose, cooperate, compete, and trade with one another. In this way Mises explains how complex market phenomena develop. In Human Action, Mises does not simply describe economic phenomena -- prices, wages, interest rates, money, monopoly and even the trade cycle -- he explains them as the outcomes of countless conscious, purposive actions, choices, and preferences of individuals, each of whom is trying as best as he or she can under the circumstances to attain various wants and ends and to avoid undesired consequences.

See also Free Market, AustrianEconomics