Human Action
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| Human Action | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Ludwig von Mises |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | Political economy |
| Genre(s) | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Yale University Press, Ludwig von Mises Institute |
| Publication date | 1949, 1998 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 881 |
| ISBN | NA |
| OCLC Number | 167731 |
Human Action: A Treatise on Economics is the second work of the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises. Widely considered Mises' magnum opus, it presents the case for laissez-faire capitalism based on the author's praxeology, or rational investigation of human decision-making. It rejects positivism within economics. It defends an a priori epistemology and underpins praxeology with a foundation of methodological individualism and speculative laws of apodictic certainty. Mises argues that the free-market economy not only outdistances any government-planned system, but ultimately serves as the foundation of civilization itself.
Nationalökonomie: Theorie Des Handelns und Wirtschaftens is the 1940 German-language predecessor to Human Action.
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[edit] Synopsis
Mises sees economic calculation as the most fundamental problem in economics. The economic problem to Mises is that of action. Man acts to dispel feelings of uneasiness, but can only succeed in acting if he comprehends causal connections between the ends that he wants to satisfy, and available means. The fact that man resides in a world of causality means that he faces definite choices as to how he satisfies his ends. Human action is an application of human reason to select the best means of satisfying ends. The reasoning mind evaluates and grades different options. This is economic calculation.
Economic calculation is common to all people. Mises insisted that the logical structure of human minds is the same for everybody. Of course, this is not to say that all minds are the same. Man makes different value judgments and possess different data, but logic is the same for all. Human reason and economic calculation have limitations, but Mises sees no alternative to economic calculation as a means of using scarce resources to improve our well being.
Human action concerns dynamics. The opposite to action is not inaction. Rather, the opposite to action is contentment. In a fully contented state there would be no action, no efforts to change the existing order of things (which might be changed by merely ceasing to do some things). Man acts because he is never fully satisfied, and will never stop because he can never be fully satisfied. This might seem like a simple point, but modern economics is built upon ideas of contentment-equilibrium analysis and indifference conditions. It is true that some economists construct models of dynamic equilibrium, but the idea of a dynamic equilibrium is oxymoronic to Mises. An actual equilibrium may involve a recurring cycle, but not true dynamics. True dynamics involve non-repeating evolutionary change.
Mises explains dynamic change in terms of "the plain state of rest". A final state of rest involves perfect plans to fully satisfy human desires. A plain state of rest is a temporary and imperfect equilibrium deriving from past human plans. Though any set of plans is imperfect, to act means attempting to improve each successive set of plans. Movement from one plain state of rest to another represents the process of change, either evolutionary or devolutionary.
Mises links progress and profits. Profits earned from voluntary trades are the indicator of economic success. It is monetary calculation of profits that indicates whether an enterprise has generated a net increase in consumer well being over true economic costs. The close association that Mises draws between economic calculation and monetary calculation leads him to conclude that market prices (upon which monetary profits are calculated) are indispensable to progress in bettering the human condition. Without markets there are no prices, and without prices there is no economic calculation. One point that Mises made, but did not get enough attention, is that monetary calculation takes place primarily in financial markets. Monetary calculation is vitally important.
Mises stresses the importance of entrepreneurship because it is entrepreneurs who actually do monetary calculation. This fact puts entrepreneurs at the center of all progress (and failure). Entrepreneurs who estimate costs more correctly than their rivals earn high profits while also serving consumers. Such men rise to top positions in industry. Entrepreneurs who err seriously in their calculations experience financial losses and cease to direct production. Mises described this market test of entrepreneurial skills as the only process of trial and error that really matters. The concepts of monetary calculation, financial speculation, and entrepreneurship form the basis for the von Mises critique of socialism.
[edit] Publishing history
- The first edition of the work came out in 1949, from the Yale University Press
- The revised and expanded second edition came out in 1963. This edition, also by the Yale University Press, was full of mistakes and another one had to be done quickly afterwards, by another editor.[1]
- The revised third edition came out in 1966 from Henry Regnery.
- The fourth edition came out in 1996, with revisions by Bettina B. Greaves. Available in hardback single (Liberty Fund, ISBN 0-86597-630-9) and four volume paperback editions (Liberty Fund, ISBN 0865976317), as well as single volume paperback (Fox & Wilkes, ISBN 0930073185).
- In 1998 the Ludwig von Mises Institute brought back the first edition as the "Scholars Edition" ISBN 0945466242.
- In 2006 it was published in Czech language. ISBN 80-86389-45-6.
- In 2007 was published in Poland by the Polish Ludwig von Mises Institute.
- In 2010 the Ludwig von Mises Institute brought back the first edition unabridged as the "Pocket Edition", designed to be portable with dimensions 4"x7" 25 oz (710 g). ISBN 9781610161459.
- In 2011 the Ludwig von Mises Institute Brazil translated it to Portuguese language and published it as "Ação Humana - Um Tratado de Economia". ISBN 85-62816-05-1
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Margit von Mises, My life with Ludwig von Mises
[edit] Full text
- Human Action, 1996 edition:
- Human Action, 1949 edition (reissued 1998):
- Nationalökonomie, 1940 edition:
- Human Action, audio files for Forewords, Introduction, and all chapters:
- Human Action Study Guide:
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