Saturday, March 22, 2008

Liberty and Economics

Far from being a body of abstract thought, economics is the study of what makes business possible. Get it wrong, and there will be no food in the stores.

This video introduces one of the great champions of free-market economics: Ludwig von Mises. He grew up in an intellectual environment that was even more hostile and contemptuous of business than the environment is today. As he described it:

"By 1900, practically everyone in the German speaking countries was either a statist or a state socialist. Capitalism was seen as a bad episode which fortunately had ended forever. The future belonged to the state. All others would be regulated in a way that prevented businessmen from exploiting workers and others."

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