Ludwig von Mises’ Human Action as a textbook of economics

2008 ◽  
pp. 230-254
Keyword(s):  
Human Action ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
Von Mises

scholarly journals Two theoretical approaches to human behavior and social institutions

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-50
Author(s):  
Javier Aranzadi del Cerro
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Dynamic Structure ◽  
Chicago School ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Market Process ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Von Mises

This paper deals with theoretical approaches to the real economic crisis we are suffering. I set out the poverty of the theoretical solutions offered by mainstream neoclassical economics and the necessity of a new theoretical approach, which is not obsessed by the positivist method. My argument is based on the work of Ludwig von Mises who was considered to give the best theoretical arguments in the debate on the impossibility of efficient economic calculation under centrally planned socialism. Although nowadays the Austrian School is considered old-fashion and lacking in scientific rigour, I agree with the late Professor Sumantra Ghoshal that it is necessary to escape from strait-jacketed methods and try to understand real economics problems. Our market economy is suffering from what he described as the consequences of bad theories destroying good entrepreneurial practices. For I do think that the triumph over communism is in danger of becoming a Pyrrhic victory if we lose our understanding of the market economy and its dynamic structure based on entrepreneurs and firms. Key words: Human action, Ludwig von Mises, Chicago School, entrepre - neurship, market process, social institutions. JEL Classification: A10; B41; B53; D00. Resumen: Este artículo compara los modelos teóricos con los que se analiza la crisis económica que estamos sufriendo. Planteo la pobreza teórica ofrecida por el paradigma neoclásico dominante y defiendo la necesidad de nuevas aproximaciones teóricas que no estén obsesionadas por el método positivista. Mi argumento se basa en la obra de Ludwig von Mises quien fue considerado el economista que esgrimió los mejores argumentos tóricos en el debate sobre la imposibilidad de una cálculo económico eficiente en una económica de planificación central. Aunque hoy en día se considera que la Escuela Austriaca está pasada de moda y falta de rigor científico, estoy de acuerdo con el difunto profesor Sumantra Ghoshal sobre la necesidad de abandonar los métodos encorsetados e intentar comprender los problemas económicos reales. Nuestra economía de mercado está sufriendo las consecuencias de lo que él describe como malas teorías que destruyen buenas prácticas empresariales. Son estas las razones por las que pienso que el triunfo sobre el comunismo está en riego de convertirse en una victoria pírrica si perdemos nuestra comprensión de la economía de mercado y su estructura dinámica basadas en la empresarialidad y la empresa privada. Palabras clave: Acción humana, Ludwig von Mises, Escuela de Chicago, empresarialidad, proceso de mercado, instituciones sociales. Clasificación JEL: A10; B41; B53; D00.

scholarly journals A Praxeological Approach to Intentional Action

Studia Humana ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 10-33
Author(s):  
Alan G. Futerman ◽  
Walter E. Block
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social ◽  
Unique Approach ◽  
Satisfactory State ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Von Mises

Abstract The concept of Intentional Action is at the core of Praxeology, as developed by the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises. Under this unique approach, defined as the science of human action and designed to study the field of the social sciences, Mises create “action axiom”: the contention that every acting man more satisfactory state of affairs for a Austrian scholar is able to derive the fundament human action; such as value, scale of value, scarcity, abundance, profit, loss, uncertainty and causality, among others. This paper intends to present the praxeological perspective on intentional action and its epistemologic implications; it also attempts to answer objections to this thesis.

scholarly journals Finding the Entrepreneur-Promoter: A Praxeological Inquiry

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 355-389
Author(s):  
Per Bylund
Keyword(s):  
Driving Force ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Market Process ◽  
General Function ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
Von Mises ◽  
Economic Improvement

Entrepreneur-promoters, or the pioneers of economic improvement, provide an essential market function which economics cannot do without. Yet Ludwig von Mises maintains that this function lies beyond what can be defined with praxeological rigor. This paper attempts to find a praxeological subcategory of entrepreneurship that conforms with Mises’s indeterminate references to the entrepreneur-promoter in Human Action. Rather than relying on the evenly rotating economy, which is commonly used for analyzing entrepreneurship, the imaginary construction of a specialization deadlock is employed, adapted from Per Bylund’s Problem of Production. This construction allows for the derivation of a praxeological subcategory of entrepreneurship, distinct from the general function of uncertainty bearing, which suggests a theoretical explanation for what constitutes the driving force of the market process.

Ludwig von Mises "Human Action" as a Textbook in Economics

2010 ◽  
pp. 62-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Huerta de Soto
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
Teaching Economics ◽  
Magnum Opus ◽  
Development Of Economic Theory ◽  
Main Representative ◽  
Von Mises ◽  
The Impact

The author indicates shortcomings of the modern economics textbooks and surveys the contribution to economics made by Ludwig von Mises, the main representative of the Austrian school in the second half of the 20th century, and the impact of his magnum opus "Human Action" on the development of economic theory. The author summarizes the methodology of teaching economics (on the basis of "Human Action") he used in the Complutense University of Madrid.

The subsistence fund in Ludwig von Mises’s explanation of the business cycle

2021 ◽  
pp. 297-314
Author(s):  
Eduard Braun
Keyword(s):  
Business Cycle ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Austrian Economics ◽  
Original Version ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
The Business Cycle ◽  
Von Mises

To the present day the circulation credit theory of the business cycle is one of the central themes in Austrian Economics. Its principle examination object is the artificial expansion of circulation credit and the influence the latter has on the economic system. In this paper it is argued that Ludwig von Mises, the originator of this theory, did not expound his theory homogenously. Whereas he stressed the role of the subsistence fund in the original version, he substituted it by other concepts in later publications. It will be shown that, at least in this respect, the original version in Theorie des Geldes und der Umlaufsmittel is more consistent than the later ones, even than the elaborated exposition that can be found in Mises’s most important work, Human Action. Key words: Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle, Ludwig von Mises, Sub - sistence Fund, History of Economic Thought. JEL Classification: B13, B31, E32. Resumen: Hasta hoy, la teoría del crédito circulatorio de los ciclos económi - cos ha sido uno de los temas centrales en la Economía Austriaca. Su objeto principal de investigación es la expansión artificial del crédito circulatorio y su influencia en el sistema económico. En este artículo se objeta que Ludwig von Mises, el autor que planteó de dicha teoría, no la expone de forma ho - mogénea. Mientras que en la versión original acentuó el papel del fondo de subsistencia, sustituyó este concepto por otros en publicaciones posteriores. Se mostrará que, por lo menos en lo que se refiere a esta relación, la versión original en Theorie des Geldes und der Umlaufmittel es más coherente que las posteriores, incluso más consistente que la elaborada exposición de sa-rrollada en su obra más importante, La Acción Humana. Palabras clave: La Teoría Austriaca del Ciclo Económico, Ludwig von Mises, Historia del Pensamiento Económico, Fondo de Subsistencia. Clasificación JEL: B13, B31, E32.

scholarly journals Mises’ and Rothbard’s Inadequate Treatment of Technology– And why a correct understanding of technology challenges the Austrian theory of time preference

2020 ◽  
pp. 143-180
Author(s):  
Christoph Klein
Keyword(s):  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Time Preference ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
Means And Ends ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Von Mises ◽  
Correct Understanding ◽  
19Th And 20Th Century

In their seminal treatises Human Action (1949) and Man, Economy and State (1962), Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard deny that the rise in living standards achieved in the 19th and 20th century should be explained by technological progress and the resulting productivity increases. Rather, it is the praxeological category of time preference that allegedly explains in the increase in savings, capital accumulation and economic progress. The pre- sented paper criticizes Mises’s and Rothbard’s dismissive treatment of technol- ogy and argues that time only acquires economic meaning in its reference to objects of choice. As choice implies an understanding of causal relations between means and ends, human action inevitably presupposes knowledge about the use of technology in its capacity to accommodate intertemporal plans. When people thus employ means to pursue ends, the time factor is already embodied in the feasible consumption and production patterns, which are nothing but the outcomes of the prevailing technological possibilities. When human action requires contextualization to acquire meaning, then the ideas of time and time preference cannot exist independently of the particular means- ends-framework. Keywords: Technology, time preference, time, profit, saving JEL Classification: B53, D46, D50, E22, O30 Resumen: En sus tratados fundamentales La acción humana (1949) y Hombre, economía y Estado (1962), Ludwig von Mises y Murray Rothbard niegan que el aumento del nivel de vida alcanzado en los siglos XIX y XX deba explicarse por el progreso tecnológico y los aumentos de productividad resultantes. Más bien, es la categoría praxeológica de preferencia temporal la que supuesta- mente explica el aumento en el ahorro, la acumulación de capital y el progreso económico. El documento presentado critica el tratamiento despectivo de la tecnología por Mises y Rothbard y argumenta que el tiempo sólo adquiere un significado económico en su referencia a los objetos de selección. Como la selección implica una comprensión de las relaciones causales entre medios y fines, la acción humana presupone inevitablemente el conocimiento sobre el uso de la tecnología en su capacidad de acomodar planes intertemporales. Cuando las personas emplean medios para perseguir fines, el factor tiempo ya está incorporado en los patrones realizables de consumo y producción, que no son más que el resultado de las posibilidades tecnológicas imperantes. Cuando la acción humana requiere contextualización para adquirir significado, enton- ces las ideas de tiempo y preferencia de tiempo no pueden existir independien- temente del marco particular de medios-fines. Palabras clave: Tecnología, preferencia temporal, tiempo, ganancia, ahorro Clasificación JEL: B53, D46, D50, E22, O30

scholarly journals Legacy of Ludwig von Mises: Rationalism

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-64
Author(s):  
Witold Kwasnicki
Keyword(s):  
Daily Life ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Economic Evolution ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
Von Mises ◽  
Ultimate Foundation

Abstract There are three intentions (aims) of this paper. First, to focus the attention of readers to three not so well known and least frequently quoted by economists of Mises’s books, namely his 1957 Theory and History: An Interpretation of Social and Economic Evolution, and two closely related The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science: An Essay on Method (1962), and Epistemological Problems of Economics (1933/1960). The second aim is to outline Mises’s legacy, presented in the form of eleven dimensions of Mises’s Intellectual Universe. The eleven dimensions of Mises’s system are: Economics as science, praxeology, and human action; Methodological dualism; Judgments of value and subjectivism; Individualism; Rationalism and human action; Consumer; Cooperation and competition; Thymology; Mathematics in economics; Predictions; and Historical analysis. Third, to present the main issues related to Mises’s concept of rationalism. There is no mention of Ludwig von Mises’s concept of rationality in a great number of books and papers dealing with the understanding of the rationality of human beings. The concept of rationality proposed by Ludwig von Mises is neglected by modern researchers and economists of different schools, but especially by mainstream economists. A good example of neglecting Mises’s ideas on rationality is the latest book by Nassim Taleb, Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life. Although Taleb’s proposition of understanding rationality and irrationality is very close to the concept of Mises, he does not refer to Mises’s work at all. No single word on Mises in that book!

scholarly journals Administración pública en el socialismo desde la perspectiva de Ludwig Von Mises

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (57) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Borgucci
Keyword(s):  
Human Action ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
Von Mises

En los últimos diez años en Venezuela se ha producido un fuerte cuestionamiento tanto a la empresa como a la gerencia privada y se ha presentado como alternativa el denominado “Socialismo del Siglo XXI”. El objetivo de este artículo es exponer los principios que sustentan el modelo de gestión administrativa socialista desde la perspectiva de los economistas austriacos. En consecuencia, la metodología empleada fue documental o bibliográfica, mediante la revisión y análisis crítico de los aportes que Ludwig von Mises expuso en Bureaucracy de 1944, Omnipotent Government de 1944 y Human Action de 1949. Se concluye que el gerente socialista, afronta, en términos generales, las mismas disyuntivas que un gerente en la economía capitalista, pero se encuentra con menos herramientas para minimizar los efectos negativos de las decisiones surgidas en la planificación central. Esta limitación se encuentra en: la carencia de la herramienta del cálculo económico basado en el mercado; la separación entre fines en sí fijados por criterios políticos y medios; y la imposibilidad de ajustar sus expectativas a los cambios del entorno económico, debido a que no hay mercado o si existe no sirve de referente.

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