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Der freie Markt und seine Feinde
Dieses Buch beinhaltet neun Vorlesungen, die Ludwig von Mises im Sommer 1951 hielt. Es entstand aus den Aufzeichnungen seiner Studentin und späteren Assistentin Bettina Bien Greaves‘ und liegt nun erstmals in deutscher Übersetzung vor.
In leicht verständlicher Sprache, aber dennoch theoretisch fundiert und tiefgründig, behandelt Ludwig von Mises eine große Bandbreite an heute noch hochaktuellen Themen: von der Ökonomik und ihrer Gegner, der Wissenschaft des menschlichen Handelns, dem Positivismus, Marxismus und Sozialismus bis zu Geld und Inflation sowie der bahnbrechenden Konjunkturzyklustheorie.
Das Werk ist die ideale Einführung in das Denken des großen Wirtschafts- und Sozialtheoretikers Ludwig von Mises. Auch Kenner seines Werks und der Österreichischen Schule der Nationalökonomie werden neue und außergewöhnliche Einblicke erlangen. So äußert sich Mises etwa zum Einfluss Platons in der Antike, zur historischen Bedeutung Rousseaus, zur Wirkung Poincarés und Einsteins, sowie in Randbemerkungen zu einer Fülle von Fragen, von Debatten über das Bankwesen im 19. Jahrhundert bis hin zur Rolle der Ideologie im modernen Leben.
Ludwig von Mises war einer der bedeutendsten Ökonomen des 20. Jahrhunderts. Seine sozial-philosophischen und wirtschaftstheoretischen Einsichten sind heute in Zeiten expansiver Geldpolitik und politischer Verwirrung bedeutsamer denn je. Näher als in diesem Buch wird man der Möglichkeit, einer Vorlesung des großen Lehrers beizuwohnen, nicht mehr kommen.
In leicht verständlicher Sprache, aber dennoch theoretisch fundiert und tiefgründig, behandelt Ludwig von Mises eine große Bandbreite an heute noch hochaktuellen Themen: von der Ökonomik und ihrer Gegner, der Wissenschaft des menschlichen Handelns, dem Positivismus, Marxismus und Sozialismus bis zu Geld und Inflation sowie der bahnbrechenden Konjunkturzyklustheorie.
Das Werk ist die ideale Einführung in das Denken des großen Wirtschafts- und Sozialtheoretikers Ludwig von Mises. Auch Kenner seines Werks und der Österreichischen Schule der Nationalökonomie werden neue und außergewöhnliche Einblicke erlangen. So äußert sich Mises etwa zum Einfluss Platons in der Antike, zur historischen Bedeutung Rousseaus, zur Wirkung Poincarés und Einsteins, sowie in Randbemerkungen zu einer Fülle von Fragen, von Debatten über das Bankwesen im 19. Jahrhundert bis hin zur Rolle der Ideologie im modernen Leben.
Ludwig von Mises war einer der bedeutendsten Ökonomen des 20. Jahrhunderts. Seine sozial-philosophischen und wirtschaftstheoretischen Einsichten sind heute in Zeiten expansiver Geldpolitik und politischer Verwirrung bedeutsamer denn je. Näher als in diesem Buch wird man der Möglichkeit, einer Vorlesung des großen Lehrers beizuwohnen, nicht mehr kommen.
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First published January 1, 2004
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About the author
Ludwig von Mises
268 books1,244 followersLudwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (German pronunciation: [ˈluːtvɪç fɔn ˈmiːzəs]; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian economist, historian, philosopher, author, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the Austrian government's economic policies in the first third of the 20th century, the Austrian School of Economics, and the modern free-market libertarian movement.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 5, 2023
2021-07-04 Finished this a day or two ago. Very cool collection of the transcriptions of a nine speech series delivered by Mises in the summer of 1951 at FEE (The Foundation for Economic Education), in Irvington-on-Hudson, NY.
The style is lighter than his more academic and longer work, so should be easier to get into as an introduction to his writing on these topics. But I appreciated some of the insights that seemed new to me, even though I have read most of his work already.
This table of contents might be helpful for those considering this short volume:
1. Economics and Its Opponents
2. Pseudo-Science and Historical Understanding
3. Acting Man and Economics
4. Marxism, Socialism, and Pseudo-Science
5. Capitalism and Human Progress
6. Money and Inflation
7. The Gold Standard: Its Importance and Restoration
8. Money, Credit, and the Business Cycle
9. The Business Cycle and Beyond.
I particularly loved the last three chapters/speeches and their simple, clear restatement of the problem of the business cycle and his analysis of its causes and cure. Totally relevant to what has been happening and will unfold again before too long, even though the talks were delivered 70 years ago.
I also note that this is a beautifully bound and printed little paperback edition, and reasonably priced from 2004, but is now available in a PDF version for free at the FEE.org website too.
Highly recommended.
NOTE:
The title of this book differs oh, so subtly from another neat little book published by FEE and written by its founder, Leonard Read: The Free Market and its Enemy. The books are very different, but both are recommended.
The style is lighter than his more academic and longer work, so should be easier to get into as an introduction to his writing on these topics. But I appreciated some of the insights that seemed new to me, even though I have read most of his work already.
This table of contents might be helpful for those considering this short volume:
1. Economics and Its Opponents
2. Pseudo-Science and Historical Understanding
3. Acting Man and Economics
4. Marxism, Socialism, and Pseudo-Science
5. Capitalism and Human Progress
6. Money and Inflation
7. The Gold Standard: Its Importance and Restoration
8. Money, Credit, and the Business Cycle
9. The Business Cycle and Beyond.
I particularly loved the last three chapters/speeches and their simple, clear restatement of the problem of the business cycle and his analysis of its causes and cure. Totally relevant to what has been happening and will unfold again before too long, even though the talks were delivered 70 years ago.
I also note that this is a beautifully bound and printed little paperback edition, and reasonably priced from 2004, but is now available in a PDF version for free at the FEE.org website too.
Highly recommended.
NOTE:
The title of this book differs oh, so subtly from another neat little book published by FEE and written by its founder, Leonard Read: The Free Market and its Enemy. The books are very different, but both are recommended.
December 21, 2020
A lecture (that can be found on YouTube) by G. Edward Griffin in 1969 titled The Communist Revolution in America led me to Ludwig Von Mises. In the lecture, Griffin states that “we must recapture the American faith in the free enterprise system. Capitalism has almost become a dirty word. We must become students again and study the words of Madison, Jefferson, Bastiat and Von Mises as intently as our enemies study Marx and Lenin, Galbraith and Keynes. Not only must we become grounded in theory, but we must become advocates and spokesmen. We must know what we stand for.”
I wish my high school Economics class would’ve taught us the principles laid forth by Ludwig Von Mises, (I like to call him Lu), an Austrian Economist born in 1881 whose foresight and wisdom resounds through his lectures and writings. I’m sure I’m not remembering everything correctly, but our class discussion seemed to be more about definitions of terms that deal with the money market and never got to the heart of the value of the Free Market, something I tend to think might’ve been planned, but I digress. Tying in core values that revolve around freedom and less government are specifically connected to how well the Free Market and capitalism prospers a people, a nation. As Lu says “the interference of the government in money and banking has made government supreme in devaluing the money.“ I plan to correct what went wrong with my education for my children. Lu is now our homeschool Economics teacher.
I wish my high school Economics class would’ve taught us the principles laid forth by Ludwig Von Mises, (I like to call him Lu), an Austrian Economist born in 1881 whose foresight and wisdom resounds through his lectures and writings. I’m sure I’m not remembering everything correctly, but our class discussion seemed to be more about definitions of terms that deal with the money market and never got to the heart of the value of the Free Market, something I tend to think might’ve been planned, but I digress. Tying in core values that revolve around freedom and less government are specifically connected to how well the Free Market and capitalism prospers a people, a nation. As Lu says “the interference of the government in money and banking has made government supreme in devaluing the money.“ I plan to correct what went wrong with my education for my children. Lu is now our homeschool Economics teacher.
December 1, 2020
Серия от лекции на Мизес, който е един от най-големите икономисти на 20 в. и изобщо. Лекциите са от 50-те години и касаят различни въпроси, които са били релевантни тогава – златния стандарт, инфлацията, международната валутна търговия, икономиката на СССР. Общо взето неща, които вече отдавна са доказани, не са нищо ново или кой знае колко интересно, дори бих казал леко разхвърляни и безцелни. Поразителното е само едно нещо…
Една от лекциите касае дълговата експанзия и намесата на централната банка в даването на нисколихвени заеми за стимулиране на икономическия растеж. Мизес твърди, че когато правителството притиска централната банка да дава кредити с подпазарна лихва (т.е. изкуствено занижена), това води до голям икономически растеж в рамките на няколко години, но едновременно с това надува икономически и финансов балон (главно в сферата на инвестициите).
Цената на нещата (вкл. на заемите, където се нарича лихва) е понятие с много значения. Едно от тях е, че тя е индикатор за тяхната стойност – настояща и бъдеща – и позволява човек да съпостави цената да направи нещо сега, с печалбата, която то би му донесло в бъдеще. В този смисъл, цената на заемите – лихвата – дава информация на инвеститорите за комплекс от неща, като най-общо им казва дали си струва да вземат заем сега, и дали ще печелят от инвестицията, направена с него, в бъдеще.
Това обаче го прави само пазарната, т.н. естествено формирана лихва. Мизес казва в лекцията си, че като дава заеми на по-ниски от пазарните лихви, централната банка изкривява изкуствено информацията, която инвеститорите получават. Така за тях е по-лесно и евтино да получат кредит, но тази леснота и лекота не отразяват действителната нужда от инвестиции. Тъй като евтините кредити не са резултат от голямо производство и голямо търсене на стоки, както е нормално (и което е истински икономически растеж), напомпването на евтини кредити води до инвестиции, които после нямат печалба, до нужда от нови лесни кредити за покриване на загубите… и така надува балона на фалшивия растеж, който след известно време неминуемо се пука и следва рецесия.
Струва ви се познато? Да и на мен. Преди 50 години човекът е казал 1:1 какво води до икономическа криза и спукване на имотния и финансов балон и как става това. Само че явно четенето не е на мода сред политиците и интересчийските групи.
Една от лекциите касае дълговата експанзия и намесата на централната банка в даването на нисколихвени заеми за стимулиране на икономическия растеж. Мизес твърди, че когато правителството притиска централната банка да дава кредити с подпазарна лихва (т.е. изкуствено занижена), това води до голям икономически растеж в рамките на няколко години, но едновременно с това надува икономически и финансов балон (главно в сферата на инвестициите).
Цената на нещата (вкл. на заемите, където се нарича лихва) е понятие с много значения. Едно от тях е, че тя е индикатор за тяхната стойност – настояща и бъдеща – и позволява човек да съпостави цената да направи нещо сега, с печалбата, която то би му донесло в бъдеще. В този смисъл, цената на заемите – лихвата – дава информация на инвеститорите за комплекс от неща, като най-общо им казва дали си струва да вземат заем сега, и дали ще печелят от инвестицията, направена с него, в бъдеще.
Това обаче го прави само пазарната, т.н. естествено формирана лихва. Мизес казва в лекцията си, че като дава заеми на по-ниски от пазарните лихви, централната банка изкривява изкуствено информацията, която инвеститорите получават. Така за тях е по-лесно и евтино да получат кредит, но тази леснота и лекота не отразяват действителната нужда от инвестиции. Тъй като евтините кредити не са резултат от голямо производство и голямо търсене на стоки, както е нормално (и което е истински икономически растеж), напомпването на евтини кредити води до инвестиции, които после нямат печалба, до нужда от нови лесни кредити за покриване на загубите… и така надува балона на фалшивия растеж, който след известно време неминуемо се пука и следва рецесия.
Струва ви се познато? Да и на мен. Преди 50 години човекът е казал 1:1 какво води до икономическа криза и спукване на имотния и финансов балон и как става това. Само че явно четенето не е на мода сред политиците и интересчийските групи.
June 14, 2018
The Free Market and its Enemies is a collection of lectures Ludwig von Mises gave throughout the years in the States. He addresses many great thinkers, including Hegel, Comte, and Marx. Moreover, he deals with the epistemological and methodological problems with natural and social sciences. In here, he argues for empiricism in natural sciences, but that in the social sciences, humans are too complex and too adaptive for empirical evidence to completely refute economic theory. Still, Mises maintains the sciences should remain neutral, free from subjective judgement values, since this is how knowledge can peacefully accumulate and progress.
Mises handedly deals with the issues of inflation and credit expansion, both causing similar effects but differs in the sequence of events. Both cause the mismanagement of resources and must inevitably lead to an economic depression. Such depressions are often blamed on the inherent flaws of capitalism while ignoring the fact that governments control monetary and fiscal policies leading up to the crisis. Governments would often say the crisis would have been even more catastrophic if we had not stepped in without realizing their policies created hazardous conditions.
This book is not for those who only have a surface level understanding of political science, philosophy, and economics as Mises addresses thinkers and issues quite casually, assuming the audience knows the conversations and debates he is referring to. However, true as with his other books, reading Mises will continue to expand your knowledge on the relation between the individual and society.
Mises handedly deals with the issues of inflation and credit expansion, both causing similar effects but differs in the sequence of events. Both cause the mismanagement of resources and must inevitably lead to an economic depression. Such depressions are often blamed on the inherent flaws of capitalism while ignoring the fact that governments control monetary and fiscal policies leading up to the crisis. Governments would often say the crisis would have been even more catastrophic if we had not stepped in without realizing their policies created hazardous conditions.
This book is not for those who only have a surface level understanding of political science, philosophy, and economics as Mises addresses thinkers and issues quite casually, assuming the audience knows the conversations and debates he is referring to. However, true as with his other books, reading Mises will continue to expand your knowledge on the relation between the individual and society.
January 26, 2023
Sempre me abstive de emitir opiniões sobre decisões políticas e econômicas porque estava ciente do tamanho da minha ignorância. Em Mises busquei uma forma de aumentar meu repertório e ser capaz de construir minhas opiniões e encontrei um ótimo professor. Este é um bom livro pra quem quer aprofundar mais conceitos como inflação, juros, ciclos econômicos, marxismo versus capitalismo.
Mises é extremamente claro em suas explicações, mas como os textos são palestras redigidas, em alguns momentos o fluxo se perde assim como quando estamos falando e não escrevendo, exigindo um pouco mais de concentração.
Mises é extremamente claro em suas explicações, mas como os textos são palestras redigidas, em alguns momentos o fluxo se perde assim como quando estamos falando e não escrevendo, exigindo um pouco mais de concentração.
October 14, 2014
Точно.Ясно.Кратко.Както винаги прави Мизес.
August 6, 2025
Creo que hasta ahora ha sido el libro de economia liberal, que se podría considerar sencillo de leer para cualquier persona. El libro (conferencias de Mises) ahonda en los problemas de siempre que hasta hoy en dia siguen siendo un dolor de cabeza para todos los estados del mundo. Queda claro que no importa si las politicas son de derechas o izquierdas, ambas siempre siguen el mismo camino de servilismos, donde aprovechan el monopolio del poder para usarlo a su favor, y enriquecerse de manera descarada. No importa si llegan a ser plutocracias, clientelismos socialdemocratas (socialistas de buenos modales), todos llevan a la misma via, enriquecerse con dinero ajeno. Ahora bien, este libro en su sencillez, expone todos estos temas ya mencionados, y los abarca con una coherencia suficiente para que cualquier persona con 3 dedos de frente entienda cuales son los verdaderos enemigos del individuo.
May 18, 2019
Esse livro reúne várias palestras de Mises. É uma introdução básica a seu pensamento.
July 24, 2025
عالی و خارق العاده با قلم آقای تدینی عزیز که کتاب روان تر و شیوا ترهم شد
November 28, 2023
A diferencia del otro libro que recoge conferencias de Mises (marxismo enmascarado) en esta obra no logré terminar de captar o retener el mensaje, quizá más por culpa mía que del autor. No obstante, lo que encontré más destacado fueron el tema de la inflación y los ciclos económicos (así como la crítica a las políticas contraciclicas). Espero releerlo más provechosamente en el futuro.
April 10, 2013
Ideas of Austrian Economics in popular language.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews