Ludwig von Mises
The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality
ISBN: 978-1-57878-798-9
Anyone who pays attention to politics or is just terminally online should be familiar with the Mises Caucus in the Libertarian Party – a group of people who follow the Austrian school of economics and hold a strict, laissez-faire attitude toward capitalism. I’ve also found them to be an interesting coalition of people, so I thought I’d go straight to the source of their movement, the work of Ludwig von Mises. The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality is one of his most well-known essays which discusses the viewpoint of those who fight against capitalism.
Even though the essay was written in 1956, it’s still incredibly relevant in the cultural wars of today. There seems to be a major increase in the number of young people who embrace socialism, especially among those who spend too much time online or in university departments ending in “studies.” Mises relatively accurately describes the split in viewpoint between blue- and white-collar workers, and the reason why blue-collar workers – the people who make physical things – tend to embrace capitalism more than white-collar workers – the people who tend to be involved in creative work.
The main point that flowed throughout the work (which also made me chuckle a bit) was that losers become socialists due to their own personal failings, and then try to blame their failure on the system. If the market decides your book of poems has minimal value compared to a best-selling novel, that’s your problem. A despot isn’t holding you back from producing something people want, as it was before the Enlightenment. Those who don’t produce something that people want dislike this system – they have to work in order to eat and have a roof under which to sleep.
In order to fight communism and socialism, Mises argues, society needs to embrace laissez-faire capitalism and let the market decide the true value of things and work produced. As we’ve seen with every attempt at state-controlled economics, the moment the government involves itself in part or all of the economy, that is the moment the economy begins to suffer. Just look at government funding of health care and post-secondary education, and you can see the disconnect between central planning and reality. As much as central banks try to convince you that there’s an infinite quantity of money, there isn’t. The house of cards eventually collapses.
This essay is a quick read – I knocked it out on a quick flight in 2023. At times, some of the language used is a bit dated. However, the information is still as valid as ever. As I mentioned earlier, I was really surprised how relevant this piece of work still is – our world really hasn’t changed since the mid-20th century as much as I realized. We’re still in the middle of finding our way as a society, and there will always be people who are looking for an easy way out of their problems or someone to blame. There’s a societal lack of introspection, as other books I’ve reviewed in the past few years have discussed. In the coming years, I hope the tide begins to turn.
Overall, 8/10, would recommend to anyone interested in diving into the basis of the libertarian movement and the Austrian school of economics. It’s a fascinating area of study – especially the Austrian school. However, to fully appreciate the work, one needs to be able to open up to uncomfortable ideas – sometimes one’s problems are self-made. While Mises doesn’t offer advice to improve one’s standing the way other authors do, this essay is a great look into Ludwig von Mises’ philosophy beyond what you see online.