Ludwig von Mises Quotes (Author of Human Action)

his description of humanity in his seminal work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905) appears to be as somber as it was prophetic: “Narrow specialists without minds, pleasure seekers without heart; in their conceit, these nullities imagine they have climbed to a level of humanity never before attained.”

One of Adam Smith’s most intelligent and penetrating readers was the German economist Karl Marx. Marx agreed entirely with Smith’s analysis: specialization had indeed transformed the world and possessed a revolutionary power to enrich individuals and nations. But where he differed from Smith was in his assessment of how desirable this development m

The whole of civilization, and the welfare of all societies, depended on people’s desire and ability to accumulate unnecessary capital and show off their wealth. It was this ‘which first prompted men to cultivate the ground, to build houses, to found cities and commonwealths and to invent all the sciences and arts which ennoble and embellish human

we may form an opinion as to the proportion which the taxation of a people bears to its real prosperity, by observing whether its external appearance is flourishing; whether, after having discharged the calls of the State, the poor man retains the means of subsistence, and the rich the means of enjoyment;