Customer Reviews

Socialism

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Although written 70 years ago, every thing in this book is clear and relevant today. Von Mises gives the definitive refutation of socialism, and the reason why the classical liberal program is the only practical way for advancing the human condition. Every possible arguement for a socialist or a statist regime is shown to be logically flawed. The book is also written in a very clear and readable format, which is somewhat surprising considering that the book is so old, and a translation from the original German. Von Mises shows why he started the modern movement toward freedom.

The book explains in detail the reasons that all socialist experiments have failed miserably during the last 100+ years. Mises describes why purely socialist economies, bereft of a method of economic calculation, are incapable of ascertaining the true value of a social activity. Without a calculation methodology, socialist societies are forced into a tremendous misallocation of economic resources. Ultimately,it is human potential that suffers the most. In a bizzare twist, Marx's central critique of capitlism's failure to adquately address human growth and potential can be more accurately directed against socialism. Written in 1922, this classic work prophetically describes the misery and poverty produced by fascism, communism, interventionism, and all other variants of socialism.