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Interventionism: An Economic Analysis

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Interventionism, an Economic Analysis is both the most conventional and most questionable book that Mises wrote. Much of this book is standard price theory. Price floors and price ceilings create excess demand and excess supply, respectively. This is no different from Neoclassical economics. Mises even notes (p29) that price contols might lower monopoly prices to competitive levels! What Mises adds in is that one price control leads to further controls, and eventually comprehensive control of the economy. Calls for limited intervention therefore lead to the unintended consequence of socialist planning.

The idea of unintended consequences is, of course, unique to Austrian economics as far as modern economics is concerned. In this particular case some Austrians might object to Mises' reasoning. Mises argues that a little intervention leads to more. Anarchist minded Austrians could see Mises' minimal state as a little intervention that will get out of hand. Is Mises consistent in arguing that one kind of state (minimal protective) can be limited, yet another (interventionist) must grow without bounds?

In the Road to Serfdom Hayek suggested that you could have a limited welfare state and some regulation without danger of further growth in government. Mises does echo Hayek in the section on Freedom and The economic System. A socialist economy does not allow for freedom. Mises also thought that an interventionist economy can't avoid trending towards socialism, provided that the goals of intervention are pursued relentlessly. Could Hayek be right? The US has had intervention for many decades without suffering the fate of comprehensive government planning. Yet there has been a distinct trend towards greater government control.

Mises also hits on the ills of inflation and credit expansion. This section is, like the rest of this book, very brief. There is enough material here to get the general idea of what he is saying, but not enough to really understand how his argument works (unless you have read some of his other work in this area).

The issues in this book are not fully explained. One must read other books by Mises to understand his theories of trade cycles and socialism/bureaucracy. Robert Higgs makes an important contribution to the analysis of the growth of government in his book Crisis and Leviathan.

Interventionism does not stand on its own very well. It could be used as part of a reading list on unintended consequences of intervetion and the expansion of government. It is thought provoking, although brief and underdeveloped. It is a quick read, so it will not take much time from reading other more important works by Mises and Hayek.