The Online Library of Liberty
A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
About Liberty Fund:
Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.
Fair use statement:
This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section of the individual titles, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.
Hayek and von Mises on Liberty, Socialism, and Interventionism
This List Is By:
Liberty Fund Staff
Liberty Fund, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
This reading list explores the ideas of the Austrian School economists Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises on liberty, socialism, and interventionism. Mises entered the debate as early as 1920, soon after the Bolshevik Revolution broke out in Russia, with his book Socialism in which he argued that rational economic planning and the efficient allocation of resources was impossible without free pricing and the private ownership of property. Hence central planning and thus socialism was impossible. As regards the kind of economic interventionism practiced in western economies both Hayek and Mises argued that it was inherently unstable and that its internal logic must lead to the repeal of interventionist laws (deregulation) or to a society’s steady progress towards further interventionism (as Mises experienced in Nazi Germany and Hayek in Britain during WW2 and the building of the welfare state).
Two of the readings are not available online at this time:
- Mises, “Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth” (1920)
- Mises, A Critique of Interventionsm (1929)
For further reading see:
- Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973)
- Friedrich von Hayek (1899-1992)
- School of Thought: The Austrian School of Economics
- The essays on Mises and Hayek in The Forum
Session I Reading 1: Understanding Collectivism and Socialism
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: INTRODUCTION
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/103772 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session I Reading 2: Understanding Collectivism and Socialism
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: CHAPTER 1: Ownership
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/103781 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session I Reading 3: Understanding Collectivism and Socialism
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: CHAPTER 2: Socialism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/103793 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session II Reading 1: Socialism and the Calculation Problem
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: CHAPTER 5: The Nature of Economic Activity
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/103831 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session II Reading 2: Socialism and the Calculation Problem
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: CHAPTER 6: The Organization of Production Under Socialism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/103843 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session II Reading 4: Socialism and the Calculation Problem
The third reading for Session II is not available online at this moment. Please read Mises, “Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth” (1920). The link to the 4th reading is below.
Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism: The Classical Tradition, trans. Ralph Raico, ed. Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005). Chapter: 4: The Impracticability of Socialism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1463/67417 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session III Reading 1: The Other Problems with Socialism
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: CHAPTER 7: The Distribution of Income
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/103857 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session III Reading 2: The Other Problems with Socialism
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: CHAPTER 9: The Position of the Individual Under Socialism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/103881 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session III Reading 3: The Other Problems with Socialism
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: CHAPTER 32: Capitalist Ethics
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/104121 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session III Reading 4: The Other Problems with Socialism
Friedrich August von Hayek, “The Use of Knowledge in Society,” American Economic Review, XXXV, No. 4; September, 1945, pp. 519–30.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/92 on 2008-08-21
This essay is published with permission of the copyright holders the American Economic Review.
Session IV Reading 1: Interventionism and the Knowledge Problem
Please read Sections 1 and 2 of the Epilogue.
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: EPILOGUE
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/104171 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session IV Reading 2: Interventionism and the Knowledge Problem
Please read Sections 1-3 of this Chapter.
The 3rd reading for this session “Interventionism” (Sections 1 and 2) from Mises, A Critique of Interventionsm (1929) is not available online at this time.
Ludwig von Mises, Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, in 4 vols., ed. Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2007). Vol. 3. Chapter: CHAPTER 27: The Government and the Market
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1895/110642 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session V Reading 1: The Slippery Slope of Interventionism
Ludwig von Mises, Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, in 4 vols., ed. Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2007). Vol. 3. Chapter: CHAPTER 36: The Crisis of Interventionism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1895/110743 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session V Reading 3: The Slippery Slope of Interventionism
The 2nd reading for this session is not availble online at this time. Please read “Theory of Price Controls” in Mises, A Critique of Interventionsm (1929).
Please read Chapters 10-13 of Part II In Interventionism from the links below.
Ludwig von Mises, Economic Freedom and Interventionism: An Anthology of Articles and Essays, selected and edited by Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2007). Chapter: PART II: Interventionism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1887/109577 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session V Reading 4: The Slippery Slope of Interventionism
Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism: The Classical Tradition, trans. Ralph Raico, ed. Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005). Chapter: 5: Interventionism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1463/67419 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session VI Reading 1: The Liberal Alternative
Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, trans. J. Kahane, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Chapter: CHAPTER 11: The Impracticability of Socialism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1060/103905 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session VI Reading 2: The Liberal Alternative
Please read chapters 1, 2, and 7 from this Part.
Ludwig von Mises, Economic Freedom and Interventionism: An Anthology of Articles and Essays, selected and edited by Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2007). Chapter: PART I: Economic Freedom
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1887/109519 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session VI Reading 3: The Liberal Alternative
Ludwig von Mises, Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, in 4 vols., ed. Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2007). Vol. 3. Chapter: 5: The Meaning of Laissez Faire
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1895/110652 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session VI Reading 4: The Liberal Alternative
Please read sections 1-7, 11 from Chapter 1.
Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism: The Classical Tradition, trans. Ralph Raico, ed. Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005). Chapter: LIBERALISM The Classical Tradition: CHAPTER 1: The Foundations of Liberal Policy
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1463/67380 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session VI Reading 5: The Liberal Alternative
Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism: The Classical Tradition, trans. Ralph Raico, ed. Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005). Chapter: 6: Capitalism: The Only Possible System of Social Organization
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1463/67421 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Session VI Reading 6: The Liberal Alternative
Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism: The Classical Tradition, trans. Ralph Raico, ed. Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005). Chapter: CHAPTER 5: The Future of Liberalism
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1463/67465 on 2008-08-21
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.