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Human Action: A Treatise on Economics (平装)
by Ludwig von Mises
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Nonfiction |
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| MSL Pointer Review:
A masterful volume. The breadth and scope of this work leaves one breathless. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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Israel M. Kirzner (author of Competition and Entrepreneurship) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
This is Ludwig von Mises's magnum opus, the magisterial contribution in which he develops his flagrantly controversial philosophy of the social sciences, his brilliant entrepreneurial theory of the market process, and his devastatingly consistent classical liberal perspective on political economy, into an overarching system of extraordinarily impressive scope. Human Action is a work that has, for almost half a century, retained its freshness and its relevance, showing how deep economic understanding is to be attained, not by virtuosity of mathematical technique, but by subtlety and penetration of economic insight and interpretation. Recent developments in the economics profession suggest that the most far-reaching impact upon economic thought exerted by this celebrated work may be that still to come. |
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William H. Peterson (adjunct scholar, Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C.) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
Human Action says it all. In this towering masterwork, Mises makes the case for limited government and a free society, pointing out the inseparability between freedom and free enterprise - that you can't have one without the other. |
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Lord Chimp (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
There is no way I can say all that I want to say in this review. Murray Rothbard has aptly said: "Every once in a while the human race pauses in the job of botching its affairs and redeems itself by producing a noble work of the intellect… To state that Human Action is a “must” book is a greater understatement. This is the economic Bible of the civilized man."
I would take Rothbard's praise further. This is not only the single most important economic tome ever, but also the most pathbreaking, definitive exposition of praxeology, the correct basis for social sciences and also necessarily the foundation for epistemology. Only a few living economists of the "Austrian" school of economics seem to have truly absorbed the true praxeological methodology forged by Mises.
Mises' contribution to economics cannot be understated. In basing economics on the axiomatic status of action, Mises established the ultimate foundation for economic science. The fact that humans act - that is, human beings "act" purposively to reach subjectively chosen ends - is, of course, irrefutable (to argue against the axiom of action is itself an action). This, however, may seem like a trivial observation. Humans act, big deal? Why is it so important? Its importance is in praxeological economics' methodology deductive chains of reasoning to realize the implications. In understanding what is implied by action - values, ends, means, choice, cost, preference, profit, and loss - economic science can be deduced logically, so it is a purely an a priori science where economic laws tell describe apodictically true relationships in the real world. In this way, key economic principles follow from the action axiom (as well as a few general, explicit assumptions about the empirical reality in which the action occurs), such as the law of diminishing marginal utility, how taxation changes time-preference schedules, the counterproductive nature of interventionism, involuntary unemployment, and so on. So long as the logic deriving the principles is correct, then economic laws are a priori-valid, and empirical testing has no bearing on them.
This book initially appeared in a difficult time, when positivist methodology and the Keynesian paradigm were dominant. Thus, upon Human Action's release it was mostly derided and ignored by the mainstream, rather than studied and criticized. It did, however, gain notoriety among academic circles for rebuilding economic science from the ground up, all the while plowing through the epistemological shortcomings of previous standards.
Mises has provided considerable ammunition for institutional critique. He uncovered the socialist calculation problem - a central planning authority has no rational way to allocate resources for production without market prices - and this is an insur- mountable hurdle for any state-run economy. In fact, when analyzed fully, it shows that any government intervention in the economy results in market distortion and inefficiency. In essence, nothing can ever be provided more efficiently by the government nor can the government do anything to make the market more efficient. Murray Rothbard, who was of course Mises' student, explored this thoroughly in his critique of interventionism, Power and Market (now available with the Scholar's Edition of Man, Economy and State).
Lee Carlson's shamefully inane review can be wholly disregarded. Although he appeals to authorities it does not change the fact that the search for mathematical parameters for economic analysis is utterly impossible because of the existence of human choice. But would finding such parameters be possible even if one could isolate all the factors involved that affect decision-making? Again, no, simply because of the fact of human choice. You cannot quantify economic laws mathematically. All parameters quantifying human choice are historical data and nothing more.
In regards to the reviews criticizing Mises extreme rationalism, they would do well to better understand Mises' methodology and the epistemological nature of economic science. To Mises, ultimately, all economic laws were derived from the incontestable axiom that, trivially enough, humans act, choosing between alternatives in a finite universe. In understanding the effects of different forms of economic activity, the economist must determine correct theory by relying on human choice as the guiding factor. To consider the effects of a change brought about by action, we need recognize that by taking certain choices, the opportunities for other choices are destroyed. And because the relationship between these universes resulting from different choices are a priori related to the others, there is no need to rely on empirical confirmation for correct theory. The corpus of economic science is essentially a system of counter- factual laws where empirical testing is completely useless. For example, it would be foolish to argue that consumption need not be preceded by production, just as it would be foolish to argue that money inflation does not raise prices higher than otherwise, just as it would be foolish to argue that 1+1=3. Like a mathematical proof, all economic laws must be refuted by identifying errors in the axiomatic-deductive chain. This is also the only truly valuable way to understand complex economic phenomena. For example, were rising real incomes in Canada 1950-1990 a result of increased taxes, or despite of more taxes? Would they have been higher still with higher or lower taxes? Counterfactual laws of case-probability are greatly more valuable than any mathematical model because of their counterfactual method. They require no qualifying considerations and are always true.
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
One day, this book will be considered one of the most influential books ever written. Truly amazing. |
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Greg Nyguist (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
Human Action is one of the classics of economics. It may be the greatest theoretical work of economics ever written. Mises focuses the light of his penetrating logic on just about every important subject in economics. He discusses, among other things, the theories of interest, the trade cycle, inflationism, balance of payments, wages, monopoly, and socialism. Many of the theories advanced in this book represent important breakthroughs in the history of economic thought. His theory of the impractibility of pure socialism, which he introduced in the Spring of 1920, and his monetary theory of the trade cycle (the only trade cycle theory, incidentally, that adequately accounts for both the Great Depression and the current stock market bubble and imminent crash), represent two of the most important theoretical discoveries in modern economics. For his work on these two theories alone Mises deserves a place among the greatest economists of all time.
But although Human Action is a masterwork of economic thought, it would be a mistake to regard every word of it as gospel truth. "Human Action," just like many another great book, is hardly perfect. It has a number of flaws, one of which can be regarded as serious. This one serious flaw is a consequence of Mises' extreme rationalism. Mises believed that because economics cannot be an experimental science like physics or chemistry (since economic variables cannot be isolated for experimental purposes), it therefore follows that uniformities in economic phenomena can only be validated through logical reasoning. This view, known as Misesian apriorism, is only partially correct. Economics, if it is to tell us anything about the real world of fact, cannot be just a theoretical science. True, theory is necessary for the reason mentioned above (i.e., inability to isolate variables), but empiricism is also necessary to keep theories from straying too far from the facts of reality. In addition, it is important to keep mind that economic theories are approximations only and not exact descriptions of empirical facts. Economic theories, including the economic theories presented in "Human Action," are deductions from over-simplified observations of economic reality. Reality being so much more complicated than our theories about it ever can be, it would be the height of folly to regard conclusions reached through logical reasoning alone as being anything but approximations. Yet this is how uncritical admirers of Mises, including some of his most famous students and followers (e.g., Rothbard, Riesman, Hans-Hermann Hoppe), regard the theories presented in "Human Action." Those eager to get the most out of this book will seek to avoid this error of rationalism, always keeping in mind that theories must conform to facts, not facts to theories. |
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An American reader (MSL quote) , USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
Starting from two irrefutable premises 1) Humans act, 2) They act in order to improve their current condition, Mises builds an astounding edifice that demonstrates the supremacy of what is called laissez faire capitalism. Only each individual knows how best to meet his or her own needs. All the other isms which require or depend on government intervention to one degree or another are doomed to ultimately fail because of this. This is not an easy book to read but worth the effort. Mises smashes what passes for economic reasoning by most journalists, lawyers, and politicians through the use of logic based on sound economic theory. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
This work towers above the mediocore garbage that currently passes for economic writing. (As late as 1989, Samuelson could say with a straight face that the Soviet economy was more productive than ours!) This book can be traced directly to the Austrian School of Classical Liberalism that attempts to define economic activity in terms of human activity, wants and needs. This is in direct contradiction to modern "economic speak" in which it is a given that the State play a vital if not pervasive role in individual human economic activity.
Von Mises, Hayek and Menger (among others) were diametrically opposed to a "middle way" between statism (socialism/fascism) and capitalism for one simple reason: Statism, once introduced, becomes the dominant force and eventually wins the contest since in a centrally-run economy all economic decisions become political ones.
Von Mises struggled his whole life to develop general rules for economic activity. There was (and is) a gray area in which economic theory and economic reality coexist in an uneasy relationship. Despite von Mises assertion that economics was basically a theoretical science - as opposed to physics or chemistry where axioms could be physically proven - he continued to maintain that economics was a rational science based upon human needs.
It is this latter point that exalts his work. For perhaps the first time since Adam Smith he set about demonstrating that Capitalism is the economic system most conducive to human nature, how it makes the most sense from a "human" point of view of wants and needs and rewards and - most important - how it delivers the goods and affects material life. Both von Mises and Hayek were convinced that when the state attempts to lead economic activity, failure and misery are sure to follow since it would eventually become a contest among competing interest groups, each vying for their turn at the trough (which it has).
Von Mises's work on economic swings was another example of brilliant logic that has held true ever since. Hayek, because he was convinced of the evolutionary nature of the economic system, also believed in cycles. HUMAN ACTION does its part in demonstrating the correlation between increasing State control of the economy and decreasing individual freedom. After having heard yet another of the Presidential campaign "debates" it is apparent that the "debaters" get their economic schooling from the editorial page. Let us pray this is a farce for the uneducated and they really don't believe what they say. If they do, the Viennese Classical School was correct in its predictions. |
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Chris Brown (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I agree completely with Lewellyn Rockwell, who writes on The Daily Objectivist website: "It is unquestionably the single most important scientific treatise on human affairs to appear in this century. But given the state of the social sciences, and the timelessness of Mises's approach to economics, I believe it will have an even greater impact on the next century. Indeed, it is increasingly clear that this is a book for the ages. When you read Human Action, what you get is not a running commentary on the turmoil of the time, but rather a pristine theoretical argument that seems to rise above it all. To be sure, Mises addresses the enemies of freedom in these pages-and they happen to be the same enemies of freedom that surround us today. But much more remarkable is the way he was able to detach himself from the rough and tumble of daily events, and write a book restating and advancing a pure science of economic logic, from the first page to the last. It contains not a word or phrase designed to appeal to the biases of the world around him.. Instead, he sought to make a case that would transcend his generation." You can read the rest of this review at The Daily Objectivist, but let me tell you, it's a brilliant book! |
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1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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