The Quotable Mises

The Quotable Mises is 300-plus pages of some of the most thrilling words on economics and politics ever written.

In some ways, it is the perfect introduction to the thought of the famous Austrian School economist and classical liberal Ludwig von Mises. It is a collection of hundreds of attention-grabbing quotations that provide a fast and accessible presentation of the range of Mises's ideas.

The content is Mises in a way that few have encountered him before: pithy words arranged subject by subject. Each page exudes energy and wisdom.

Just consider these quotations from Mises:

"The issue is always the same: the government or the market. There is no third solution."

"If history could teach us anything, it would be that private property is inextricably linked with civilization."

"Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom."

"Both force and money are impotent against ideas."

"The comparatively greater prosperity of the United States is an outcome of the fact that the New Deal did not come in 1900 or 1910, but only in 1933."

"The worst and most dangerous form of absolutist rule is that of an intolerant majority."

This book not only provides a representative list of topics and subjects that Mises is most famous for, such as socialism, bureaucracy, interventionism, money, government, and war; it also includes many subject areas for which Mises is not often quoted, including arts, fate, health, instinct, martyrdom, religion, and youth.

Most economists don't write enough memorable material in an entire lifetime to fill 20 pages. But Mises was different. He was brilliant, brave, and tenacious. He could also write. He wanted to reach all people, not just specialists.