Thought Food: Ludwig von Mises

"Contemplation" -- ink on paper

According to the Brittanica, Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was an Austrian-American libertarian economist known for his contribution to liberalism in economic theory and his belief in the power of the consumer.  (EdNote: Liberalism had a very different meaning 100 years ago than it does today,) 

He is as relevant today as when he penned his ideas 50 to 100 years in the past. 

“He who is unfit to serve his fellow citizens wants to rule them.”
― Ludwig von Mises, Bureaucracy 

“Every socialist is a disguised dictator.”
― Ludwig von Mises

“Socialism is an alternative to capitalism as potassium cyanide is an alternative to water.”
― Ludwig von Mises, Human Action: A Treatise on Economics

“The worship of the state is the worship of force. There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men. The worst evils which mankind ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments. The state can be and has often been in the course of history the main source of mischief and disaster.”
― Ludwig von Mises

“It is vain to fight totalitarianism by adopting totalitarian methods. Freedom can only be won by men unconditionally committed to the principles of freedom. The first requisite for a better social order is the return to unrestricted freedom of thought and speech.”
― Ludwig Von Mises, Omnipotent Government  

“Every step which leads from capitalism toward planning is necessarily a step nearer to absolutism and dictatorship.”
― Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government   

“The market system is the basis of our civilization. Its only alternative is the Führer principle.”
― Ludwig von Mises

“Doctrines which can stand the trial of logic and reason can do without persecuting skeptics.”
― Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government 

“The issue is always the same: the government or the market. There is no third solution.”
― Ludwig von Mises, Planned Chaos  

“If one rejects laissez faire on account of mans fallibility and moral weakness, one must for the same reason also reject every kind of government action.”
― Ludwig von Mises, Planning for Freedom, and Sixteen Other Essays and Addresses

“The state is a human institution, not a superhuman being. He who says “state” means coercion and compulsion. He who says: There should be a law concerning this matter, means: The armed men of the government should force people to do what they do not want to do, or not to do what they like. He who says: This law should be better enforced, means: The police should force people to obey this law. He who says: The state is God, deifies arms and prisons. The worship of the state is the worship of force.”
― Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government