Ludwig von Mises Quotes
In the capitalist society there is a place and bread for all. Its ability to expand provides sustenance for every worker. Permanent unemployment is not a feature of free capitalism.
This was an honest theoretical belief of Mises. However, most of the criticism of capitalism in the industrial democracies is precisely the lack of unemployment and sustenance for all. When it does, even complaints about inequality tend to be minimal. But some capitalist societies never provided these, and by the 21st century, no capitalist nation was able to do so permanently without recessions and depressions.
Ludwig von Mises, 1881-1973, Austrian Economist & Political Philosopher, Socialism, 1922
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
By producing growth and an increasing standard of living and universal education, capitalism’s citizens have the time, education, and resources to protest and produce social unrest. However, that assumes that there is also a democratic state. For Schumpeter and many others, capitalism and democracy go hand in hand, but many point to historical examples of one developing faster than the other.
One important observation of this quotation is the pejorative language Mises used to describe “Union Bosses” as opposed to “Union Leaders.” There were indeed a few Union “Bosses” but most unions had popularly elected leaders. It is similar to the left wing critic who refers to Corporate Executives as “Greedy Monopolists.” A few are but most are not. Historically, in the last half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, the conservatives tended to be much better at pejorative language and used it more frequently and uniformly than the liberals who tended to be better in the last part of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
The Grammar Curmudgeon
It has been the blue collar worker who has borne the economic brunt of globalization in the industrial democracies. It was their jobs who moved off shore, their wages that were under pressure from low wage workers in emerging nations.
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician and sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism. He is best known for his work on praxeology, a study of human choice and action.
