Books: The Anti-Capitalism Mentality by Ludwig von Mises
Posted By RichC on January 30, 2024
As usual, I’m currently reading several different books — different genres for different moods. The one highlighted today is because I don’t really like taking my eReader to the beach. We’ve generally just been going just to walk so haven’t been sitting long enough to read anyway … I don’t want it to be a temptation for theft of my Kindle either. But “The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality” by libertarian thinker Ludwig von Mises is a paperback and one that I’ve been wanting to read and discuss in our “book talk” coffees with my buddy Jeff.
Brenda has decided that I should not be reading a book if she didn’t have one … 
so decided to see what the fuss was about (it will not interest her so I know that I’ll SOON get it back). 
The weekend weather for our time in Florida was very nice (beach reading photo above) … but the north wind and drop in temperatures was not appreciated on Monday … so walking only.
Over fifty years ago, the famous economist whose career “showed that government intervention is always destructive,” penned The Anti-capitalistic Mentality. This short book marked his official venture into psychology. We should be grateful today for its insight. His deconstruction of those opposed to free markets indicates that he had a far better understanding of humanity than do the majority of psychologists.
What impresses most about The Anti-capitalistic Mentality is just how prescient a work it is. The failures of socialism were evident in the 1950s but not as glaring as they are in 2008. Yet this truth does not prevent our politicians from continuing to push for more and more government expansion. The concomitant disruption and diminution of the private sector is discounted entirely. The experiences of Soviet Russia, the Warsaw Pact countries, and the vivid and ongoing failures of communist starvation zones like Cuba and North Korea are pooh-poohed by those desirous of further empowering the Leviathan. In light of what America has become, Von Mises’ elucidation of the enemies of capitalism is more pertinent than ever.
It is the common man who benefits most from capitalism. He profits from those who save, who invest, and who engage in entrepreneurial activities. These individuals expand the economy, elevate wages, and employ him directly. More importantly, there are no structural barriers which prevent him from joining the ranks of such persons.
In the final analysis, to hate capitalism is to hate liberty as only within the framework of personal choice can one choose an education, a vocation, and course of life that suits them. The laissez-faire philosophy is what put an end to slavery and serfdom. Nobody born poor in a free society is destined to poverty. How ironic it is that so many anti-capitalists describe themselves as being “liberal” when there is nothing liberal about stealing the dreams and futures of those you regard as nothing more than wards or mascots.Psychologizing proved a very elementary feat for Ludwig von Mises. His deconstruction and refutation of the anti-capitalist outlook was a noble undertaking. He flamboyantly paraded its irrationality for all to see over fifty years ago, but it is now up to us to popularize his forgotten, but exquisite, argumentation.
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