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O Essencial von Mises
本書はマレー・Ｎ・ロスバードの手によるミーゼスの伝記’The Essential von Mises’の翻訳である。ミーゼスの伝記としては日本で２冊目の翻訳書（※）になる。
本書の原書は元々２冊であった本を、ミーゼス研究所が読者の便宜のために１冊にまとめて出版したものである。１冊目が１９７３年に、２冊目が１９８８年に出版されていて、それぞれが本書の第一部、第二部に該当する。
第一部は、ミーゼスの経済学で果たした貢献とその概略について年代順に書かれている。これを読めばミーゼスの考えを概観できるので、ミーゼスの、そしてオーストリア経済学の入門として役立つと思われる。
第二部は伝記であって、ミーゼスの一生の主な出来事が幾つかの視点から書かれている。ミーゼスの置かれた厳しい状況と、それにもかかわらず真実を探求し、そして成し遂げた素晴らしい成果について、ロスバードが感情を込めて語っている。これを読むと私（訳者）はミーゼスの「ヒューマン・アクション」の次の一節を思い浮かべてしまう。「多くの天才は、その才能を自分の生活を快適で楽しいものにするために用いることもできたはずだが、そのような可能性を考えたことさえなく、ためらわずに、い
本書の原書は元々２冊であった本を、ミーゼス研究所が読者の便宜のために１冊にまとめて出版したものである。１冊目が１９７３年に、２冊目が１９８８年に出版されていて、それぞれが本書の第一部、第二部に該当する。
第一部は、ミーゼスの経済学で果たした貢献とその概略について年代順に書かれている。これを読めばミーゼスの考えを概観できるので、ミーゼスの、そしてオーストリア経済学の入門として役立つと思われる。
第二部は伝記であって、ミーゼスの一生の主な出来事が幾つかの視点から書かれている。ミーゼスの置かれた厳しい状況と、それにもかかわらず真実を探求し、そして成し遂げた素晴らしい成果について、ロスバードが感情を込めて語っている。これを読むと私（訳者）はミーゼスの「ヒューマン・アクション」の次の一節を思い浮かべてしまう。「多くの天才は、その才能を自分の生活を快適で楽しいものにするために用いることもできたはずだが、そのような可能性を考えたことさえなく、ためらわずに、い
51 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
22 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Murray N. Rothbard
283 books1,115 followersMurray Newton Rothbard was an influential American historian, natural law theorist and economist of the Austrian School who helped define modern libertarianism. Rothbard took the Austrian School's emphasis on spontaneous order and condemnation of central planning to an individualist anarchist conclusion, which he termed "anarcho-capitalism".
In the 1970s, he assisted Charles Koch and Ed Crane to found the Cato Institute as libertarian think tank.
In the 1970s, he assisted Charles Koch and Ed Crane to found the Cato Institute as libertarian think tank.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 11, 2024
AN EXTREMELY USEFUL INTRODUCTION TO THE WORK OF LUDWIG VON MISES
Murray Newton Rothbard (1926-1995) was an American economist, historian and political theorist. He was a prominent exponent of the Austrian School of economics in this country and a key figure in the American libertarian movement.
This 1973 essay begins with Rothbard's summary of "The Austrian School," commenting that "It was (Carl) Menger who founded the 'Austrian School,'" and "(Eugen) Böhm-Bawerk towered above (19th century economists) all." (Pg. 5)
Mises' The Theory of Money and Credit showed that governmental money inflation creates over-investment in the capital goods industries and under-investment in consumer goods, and a "recession" or "depression" is "the necessary process by which the market liquidates the distortions of the boom and returns to the free-market system of production... Recovery arrives when this adjustment process is completed." (Pg. 19-20)
Rothbard notes that Mises' accomplishments "were never really acknowledged or accepted by the economics profession." His position at the University of Vienna was unsalaried, and his income came from his position as an economic advisor to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. His book was also not translated into English until 1934, and "it came too late to take hold." (Pg. 21)
Still, in a 1920 journal article (later expanded in his book Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis), Mises demonstrated that "socialism was an unviable system," as it "could not rationally calculate costs or allocate factors of production efficiently." (Pg. 24) Mises then developed his concept of praxeology: the "general theory of human action." Since each event, each act in human history is different and unique, "there can be no statistical predictions or 'tests' of economic theories." (Pg. 27)
Concerning Mises' 1940 magnum opus Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, Third Revised Edition (published in English in 1949), Rothbard confesses, "it was an achievement that changed the course of (Rothbard's) life and ideas." (Pg. 29) But with the Keynsian Revolution, Mises' work was never refuted, but was "simply forgotten." (Pg. 33)
Rothbard laments that after Mises left Nazi Austria and came to the U.S. in 1940, "It was an unforgivable and shameful blot on American academia" that he never found a paid, full-time university post, and was simply a Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Business Administration at New York University. (Pg. 35) But Rothbard adds, "Those of us privileged to attend his seminar at New York University could well understand how Mises was a great TEACHER as well as a great economist." (Pg. 36)
Mises continued this seminar until he retired at age 87, "undoubtedly the oldest active professor in the United States" (Pg. 37), as well as "a noble and magnificent man" (pg. 40).
This is an excellent introduction to Mises' thought, by one who genuinely reveres his former teacher.
Murray Newton Rothbard (1926-1995) was an American economist, historian and political theorist. He was a prominent exponent of the Austrian School of economics in this country and a key figure in the American libertarian movement.
This 1973 essay begins with Rothbard's summary of "The Austrian School," commenting that "It was (Carl) Menger who founded the 'Austrian School,'" and "(Eugen) Böhm-Bawerk towered above (19th century economists) all." (Pg. 5)
Mises' The Theory of Money and Credit showed that governmental money inflation creates over-investment in the capital goods industries and under-investment in consumer goods, and a "recession" or "depression" is "the necessary process by which the market liquidates the distortions of the boom and returns to the free-market system of production... Recovery arrives when this adjustment process is completed." (Pg. 19-20)
Rothbard notes that Mises' accomplishments "were never really acknowledged or accepted by the economics profession." His position at the University of Vienna was unsalaried, and his income came from his position as an economic advisor to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. His book was also not translated into English until 1934, and "it came too late to take hold." (Pg. 21)
Still, in a 1920 journal article (later expanded in his book Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis), Mises demonstrated that "socialism was an unviable system," as it "could not rationally calculate costs or allocate factors of production efficiently." (Pg. 24) Mises then developed his concept of praxeology: the "general theory of human action." Since each event, each act in human history is different and unique, "there can be no statistical predictions or 'tests' of economic theories." (Pg. 27)
Concerning Mises' 1940 magnum opus Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, Third Revised Edition (published in English in 1949), Rothbard confesses, "it was an achievement that changed the course of (Rothbard's) life and ideas." (Pg. 29) But with the Keynsian Revolution, Mises' work was never refuted, but was "simply forgotten." (Pg. 33)
Rothbard laments that after Mises left Nazi Austria and came to the U.S. in 1940, "It was an unforgivable and shameful blot on American academia" that he never found a paid, full-time university post, and was simply a Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Business Administration at New York University. (Pg. 35) But Rothbard adds, "Those of us privileged to attend his seminar at New York University could well understand how Mises was a great TEACHER as well as a great economist." (Pg. 36)
Mises continued this seminar until he retired at age 87, "undoubtedly the oldest active professor in the United States" (Pg. 37), as well as "a noble and magnificent man" (pg. 40).
This is an excellent introduction to Mises' thought, by one who genuinely reveres his former teacher.
May 4, 2010
Murray N. Rothbard appears to be more in love with the arguably brilliant von Mises than the "Austrian-school" theories; i say this because Rothbard presents one man's ideas and that man's thinking as god-like in quality. Rothbard's awe of von Mises reminds me of Dr. Ravi Batra's idolization of Indian philosopher, P. R. Sarkar, in Batra's books on societies and economics. But i suppose that i have individuals of whom i am in utter awe, so i should not be so critical about this point. I generally agree with the Austrian school of thought as a way to understand pre-transcendent man's behaviors and their ramifications in the marketplace of limited resources. But the times they are a-changing.
December 14, 2024
Murray Rothbard’s “The Essential von Mises” is an outstanding portrait of an Austrian economist, lawyer, historian and political theorist. Rothbard manages to capture the essence of the philosopher and the man in a simple anecdote. Speaking to graduate students at Columbia University, a student asked, “Doesn’t repealing government programs constitute a government intervention?” Mises replied, “Well, in the same way, you could say that a physician who rushes to the side of a man hit by a truck is ‘ intervening’ in the same way as the truck.”
This 1973 treatise begins with Rothbard's summary of "The Austrian School," discussing Menger, Bohm-Bawerk and Wieser; it then proceeds to the Mises Revolution.
Mises was born in Ukraine in 1881. By the age of 12, he spoke German, Russian, Polish and French, read Latin and could understand Ukrainian. His younger brother, Richard, became a mathematician and a member of the Vienna Circle, and a probability theorist.
Rothbard extends a good deal of consideration to Mises' “The Theory of Money and Credit.” Mises extended marginal utility theory to money and argued that central banks cause inflation which creates over-investment in the capital goods and under-investment in consumer goods Thus, recession or depression is the process by which the market liquidates malinvestment.
In his post-war book “Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis,” Mises argued that socialism was not a viable system. Without private property and free exchange, the epistemic nature of prices would be absent; therefore, it would be impossible to rationally calculate costs or allocate factors of production efficiently. This led Mises in a new direction, he developed the concept of praxeology: the "general theory of human action." Since each event, each act in human history is different and unique, "there can be no statistical predictions or 'tests' of economic theories."
In 1949, Yale published “Human Action: A Treatise on Economics.”Rothbard confesses, "it was an achievement that changed the course of my life and ideas." “Human Action,” is an 800 page tome that coordinates micro and macro economics, under the framework of praxeology. Mises’ unstinting resistance to socialism, communism, facism and modern liberalism left him with few allies. Unfortunately, “Human Action” cannot be summarized in a forum such as this, for it represents the culmination of nearly 60 years of scholarship, writing and reflection.
Rothbard notes that after Mises left Austria for Switzerland, and then came to the U.S. in 1940, "It was a blot on American academia" that he never found a paid, full-time university post, and worked as a permanent ‘Visiting Professor’ at New York University.
.This is an excellent introduction to Mises' thought, by one who comprehends and appreciates a true mentor.
This 1973 treatise begins with Rothbard's summary of "The Austrian School," discussing Menger, Bohm-Bawerk and Wieser; it then proceeds to the Mises Revolution.
Mises was born in Ukraine in 1881. By the age of 12, he spoke German, Russian, Polish and French, read Latin and could understand Ukrainian. His younger brother, Richard, became a mathematician and a member of the Vienna Circle, and a probability theorist.
Rothbard extends a good deal of consideration to Mises' “The Theory of Money and Credit.” Mises extended marginal utility theory to money and argued that central banks cause inflation which creates over-investment in the capital goods and under-investment in consumer goods Thus, recession or depression is the process by which the market liquidates malinvestment.
In his post-war book “Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis,” Mises argued that socialism was not a viable system. Without private property and free exchange, the epistemic nature of prices would be absent; therefore, it would be impossible to rationally calculate costs or allocate factors of production efficiently. This led Mises in a new direction, he developed the concept of praxeology: the "general theory of human action." Since each event, each act in human history is different and unique, "there can be no statistical predictions or 'tests' of economic theories."
In 1949, Yale published “Human Action: A Treatise on Economics.”Rothbard confesses, "it was an achievement that changed the course of my life and ideas." “Human Action,” is an 800 page tome that coordinates micro and macro economics, under the framework of praxeology. Mises’ unstinting resistance to socialism, communism, facism and modern liberalism left him with few allies. Unfortunately, “Human Action” cannot be summarized in a forum such as this, for it represents the culmination of nearly 60 years of scholarship, writing and reflection.
Rothbard notes that after Mises left Austria for Switzerland, and then came to the U.S. in 1940, "It was a blot on American academia" that he never found a paid, full-time university post, and worked as a permanent ‘Visiting Professor’ at New York University.
.This is an excellent introduction to Mises' thought, by one who comprehends and appreciates a true mentor.
June 15, 2019
O livro é um compêndio dos mais diversos temas tratados por Mises durante sua carreira. É uma boa introdução para quem gostaria de conhecer, de maneira superficial, um pouco da obra de Ludwig Von Mises.
January 22, 2020
This is a good introduction both to the Austrian school of economics and to Von Mises' development of the same throughout the first half of the 20th century. This is a good starting point to whet your whistle and dive deeper into Mises' actual works.
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March 12, 2018Good read into one of the most underated economists of the XX century.
October 18, 2018
Breve introdução a Mises e alguns de seus conceitos.
December 3, 2018
An amazing biography about an amazin man!
February 7, 2020
mises>deus
May 19, 2020
Buen resumen sobre la vida de Mises y de qué iban sus teorías económicas, con la típica manera de expresar las ideas que tiene Rothbard.
December 27, 2020
Introduction to the works of Mises. Gives you idea what to read from Mises's works, based on your interests.
September 7, 2022
Brillante resumen sobre la obra de Mises.
August 23, 2023
A great book for augmenting Mises’s and Rothbard’s technical works with biographical context. Inspiring. We stand on the shoulders of a man of endure great suffering so that truth may prevail.
June 4, 2025
Succinct and well-written introduction to von Mises’s work and the context of its creation.
November 18, 2024
Con evidente devoción, Rothbard elaboró una biografía intelectual de su maestro Ludwig von Mises, en donde repasa su crecimiento filosófico y su gran tenacidad para nadar contra la corriente en la defensa de sus ideas. En esta biografía se aprecia la "soledad" a la que von Mises se vio relegado, al encontrarse con un mundo académico que torpemente despreciaba las ideas de Mises, que a la larga terminaron elevándose por sobre el keynesianismo o el socialismo.
September 2, 2016
Murray Rothbard, economic historian gives a brief overview of the works of his former professor, Ludwig Von Mises. Mises is a monolith in the Austrian School.
In 1871 three economists solved the labor theory of value by analyzing individuals leading to the "marginalist revolution" and our modern concepts of supply and demand. These three were William Jevons of England, Leon Walras of Switzerland, and Carl Menger of Vienna.
Menger's student Bohm-Bawerk solved the "frozen labor" problem of capital. Marx argued that the existence of profit produced from capital is actual originally derived from the labor that created the capital in the first place. Bohm-Bawerk's response was to introduce time preference into it. The capitalist are the creditors who save and pay out present money, and then wait for their eventual return. It is the degree and intensity of time preferences that determines the interest rate and profits. Thus capital is more than simply "frozen labor", but also "frozen time (or land)".
Ludwig Von Mises was Bohm-Bawerk's pupil, who surpassed his mentor's contributions. He began by studying money arguing that increases in the supply of money do not happen in a lump sum. Rather they are injected at one point in the economy and prices will only rise as the new money spreads in ripples throughout the economy. This could imply that the incomes of those close to the government will rise before the rest of the prices do.
Money receives its utility based on the price level. (The utility of five dollars depends on how much five dollars can buy you). Von Mises argues that there is a direction of causality. Prices are determined first, then the demand for money is determined. In his famous "regression theorem" Mises follows this chicken and the egg down to ancient times when money was commodity backed. Therefore gold-standard. QED.
This is unpersuasive. First, there is historical evidence that coined money emerged from government edicts in the first empires of civilization, not through natural processes from barter systems. Furthermore, it assumes time order in the determination of money's utility, rather than a simultaneous determination. People care about real-money holdings, rather than nominal. The price level is netted out.
Mises spent the last half of his career creating a systematized axiomatic approach to economics. He rejected the "positivist" direction the field took in the mid 20th century. He felt economists treated humans too much like Atoms, following irrefutable laws. Mises argued that because humans are individually motivated, therefore we cannot come up with quantitative, statistical regularities that follow some ethereal "laws." He felt econometrics was only in vein.
While recognizing the reality of individuality and complexity of human behavior, one cannot reject empiricism broadly, as Mises does. While true that the positivism among economists of his day was too all-encompassing, Mises blanked repudiation does not suffice, either.
In 1871 three economists solved the labor theory of value by analyzing individuals leading to the "marginalist revolution" and our modern concepts of supply and demand. These three were William Jevons of England, Leon Walras of Switzerland, and Carl Menger of Vienna.
Menger's student Bohm-Bawerk solved the "frozen labor" problem of capital. Marx argued that the existence of profit produced from capital is actual originally derived from the labor that created the capital in the first place. Bohm-Bawerk's response was to introduce time preference into it. The capitalist are the creditors who save and pay out present money, and then wait for their eventual return. It is the degree and intensity of time preferences that determines the interest rate and profits. Thus capital is more than simply "frozen labor", but also "frozen time (or land)".
Ludwig Von Mises was Bohm-Bawerk's pupil, who surpassed his mentor's contributions. He began by studying money arguing that increases in the supply of money do not happen in a lump sum. Rather they are injected at one point in the economy and prices will only rise as the new money spreads in ripples throughout the economy. This could imply that the incomes of those close to the government will rise before the rest of the prices do.
Money receives its utility based on the price level. (The utility of five dollars depends on how much five dollars can buy you). Von Mises argues that there is a direction of causality. Prices are determined first, then the demand for money is determined. In his famous "regression theorem" Mises follows this chicken and the egg down to ancient times when money was commodity backed. Therefore gold-standard. QED.
This is unpersuasive. First, there is historical evidence that coined money emerged from government edicts in the first empires of civilization, not through natural processes from barter systems. Furthermore, it assumes time order in the determination of money's utility, rather than a simultaneous determination. People care about real-money holdings, rather than nominal. The price level is netted out.
Mises spent the last half of his career creating a systematized axiomatic approach to economics. He rejected the "positivist" direction the field took in the mid 20th century. He felt economists treated humans too much like Atoms, following irrefutable laws. Mises argued that because humans are individually motivated, therefore we cannot come up with quantitative, statistical regularities that follow some ethereal "laws." He felt econometrics was only in vein.
While recognizing the reality of individuality and complexity of human behavior, one cannot reject empiricism broadly, as Mises does. While true that the positivism among economists of his day was too all-encompassing, Mises blanked repudiation does not suffice, either.
February 3, 2016
Excelente resumo da vida e obra do economista austríaco Ludwig von Mises, escrito por um dos seus discípulos mais renomados.
Em linguagem simples e acessível, Rothbard inicia com uma contextualização sobre as origens da "Escola Austríaca" de economia, identificando as principais contribuições de Carl Menger e Eugene Böhm-Bawerk. Em seguida, o autor começa a evidenciar o pensamento de Mises, apresentando seus principais trabalhos, sempre com o cuidado histórico de mostrar a conjuntura vivida por Mises em diferentes momentos de sua vida.
Em linguagem simples e acessível, Rothbard inicia com uma contextualização sobre as origens da "Escola Austríaca" de economia, identificando as principais contribuições de Carl Menger e Eugene Böhm-Bawerk. Em seguida, o autor começa a evidenciar o pensamento de Mises, apresentando seus principais trabalhos, sempre com o cuidado histórico de mostrar a conjuntura vivida por Mises em diferentes momentos de sua vida.
Want to read
February 16, 2018دايما كنت بشوف الشباب بيخدّموا على الدكاترة المشرفين على رسالات الماسترز والدكتوراة بتاعتهم، ومن بين طرق التخديم عليهم، عزومات على الأكل وخصوصا الكباب والكفتة.
وهذا الأمر شائع حتى ليظنه البعيد كأحد البروتوكولات المعتمدة للتسجيل للحصول على شهادة الدكتوراه.
ولكن أن تكتب كتاب مخصوص عن الدكتور المشرف على رسالة الدكتوراة مالتك، فهو تصرف ترفع له القبعات، وتخفض له القامات. تصرف لا يصدر سوى من المؤسس الفعلي للأناركية الرأسمالية!
وعليه فإن شاء الله سأضم هذه الخطة لكتابي القادم بعنوان "طريق النجاح، من السطوة للانبطاح. كي لا يرتبط مستقبلك بدولاب المعلّمة نجاح"
September 10, 2012
Short overview of the life and work of von Mises. Read it for a book club meeting that I didn't have time to attend. Enjoyed the warm recollections of Rothbard's time as a student in New York.
April 5, 2014
Livro que sumariza bem a vida e produção de Mises.
Cada capítulo é uma breve introdução sobre obra no decorrer do tempo mundial.
Cada capítulo é uma breve introdução sobre obra no decorrer do tempo mundial.
May 3, 2017
If what you're after is an introduction to Misesian thought, look somewhere else. This is nothing but a eulogistic biography of Mises written by one of his disciples, Murray N. Rothbard —a noted figure in libertarian and Anarcho-capitalist circles in his own right.
I read the second essay first, seeing as it was longer and more autobiographic in nature (and therefore, a lighter read), and I wasn't disappointed, Rothbard undeniably has a gift for writing. His prose is top-notch, and so is his cadence. He knows when to incorporate an anecdote to lighten up the mood, and how much historical minutiae to include in order to spark the curiosity of the reader; it's a shame he doesn't know when enough is enough when it comes to praise, as what could've been a superb intellectual biography for the layperson winded up feeling like a cultist's eulogy for his recently deceased leader.
The first essay, on the other hand, is an odd one: it purports to be an introduction to Mises's thought (as pointed out by the former president of the Mises Institute in the introduction to this particular edition of the book, which you can get for free at their website), but it's filled to the brim with biographical detail that you could easily get from the second essay. There is barely any theory explained here, no arguments, no defenses of the Austrian School's methodological rationalism, only sweeping statements and attacks on the oh-so-naive mainstream academia.
By all means, read the second essay, it's short and sweet, and you won't be missing much by skipping the first one altogether.
I read the second essay first, seeing as it was longer and more autobiographic in nature (and therefore, a lighter read), and I wasn't disappointed, Rothbard undeniably has a gift for writing. His prose is top-notch, and so is his cadence. He knows when to incorporate an anecdote to lighten up the mood, and how much historical minutiae to include in order to spark the curiosity of the reader; it's a shame he doesn't know when enough is enough when it comes to praise, as what could've been a superb intellectual biography for the layperson winded up feeling like a cultist's eulogy for his recently deceased leader.
The first essay, on the other hand, is an odd one: it purports to be an introduction to Mises's thought (as pointed out by the former president of the Mises Institute in the introduction to this particular edition of the book, which you can get for free at their website), but it's filled to the brim with biographical detail that you could easily get from the second essay. There is barely any theory explained here, no arguments, no defenses of the Austrian School's methodological rationalism, only sweeping statements and attacks on the oh-so-naive mainstream academia.
By all means, read the second essay, it's short and sweet, and you won't be missing much by skipping the first one altogether.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews