First Full Ludwig von Mises Bio Published

I had a chance to read through an early pre-publication version of this massive manuscript while wrapping up my own history of the libertarian movement (now on sale!), in which the Austrian economist Ludwig Von Mises plays a huge role, and it's a Mises devotee's dream. The book, Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism, by Jorg Guido Hulsmann, is now out, and is being blogged about in a mini-reading group of sorts over at the Ludwig von Mises Institute's blog. An excerpt from the preface here.

Comments

[dhex]

that title's a *bit* over the top, isn't it?

[affenkopf]

why?

[ed]

"Mises stood against inflationism, socialism, positivism, and interventionism and did so nearly alone. The author shows that in many ways Mises made so many expansions of the original liberal idea that he ought to be considered the founder of a new school."

All that, and without the aid of a blogosphere!

[Roderick T. Long]

that title's a *bit* over the top, isn't it?

The phrase isn't an invention of the author, it's a description that was applied to Mises by his European colleagues.

[jeffry]

And the label of Mises as "Last Knight of Liberalism" was most likely understood in Mises's time as a reference to Maximillian.

[dhex]

i figured it was a contemporary thing (from a letter perhaps or whatnot because of the phrasing) but it still SCREAMS "cult! cult! cult!" even though it doesn't mean to.

well i'm presuming it doesn't mean to but you get my drift.

[Not One Myself, But...]

You might want to try posting this somewhere where there are some libertarians, Brian.

[M.]

I'm not familiar with him. I added Human Action to my wishlist.

[David]

The section "Last Skirmishes with the Anarchists" is an interesting read.

The author says:

"His [Mises] occasional remarks on the question show that he believed the case for anarchism would only hold in a world inhabited by angels." (p. 1024)

Take that, ROTHBARD!

[jeffrey]

dhex, in the many years of reading this manuscript in process, considering this title, thinking through every angle, that is one observation no one ever made, not the readers at Oxford or Cambridge or anywhere else. If it "screams" something, one might think that you wouldn't be the first to hear it.

Something tells me that you would benefit from reading this book (of course reading does take time away from commenting on blogs).

[Franklin Harris]

I can't see how "The Last Knight of Liberalism" screams "cult!" unless someone immediately thinks of the Knights Templar whenever the word "knight" is uttered.

[M.]

What's the correct way to pronounce "Mises"?

[Franklin Harris]

Mee-zez.

[M.]

Thanks!