''Liberalism'' (original German title: ''Liberalismus'') is a book by

Austrian School The Austrian School is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result exclusively from the motivations and actions of individuals. Austrian school ...

economist and

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

thinker

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and Sociology, sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberali ...

, containing economic analysis and indicting critique of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. It was first published in 1927 by

Gustav Fischer Verlag Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

and defending classical liberal ideology based on individual property rights. Starting from the principle of private property, Mises shows how the other classical liberal freedoms follow from property rights and argues that liberalism free of

government intervention Economic interventionism, sometimes also called state interventionism, is an economic policy position favouring government intervention in the market process with the intention of correcting market failures and promoting the general welfare of ...

is required to promote peace, social harmony and the general welfare. The book was translated into English by a student of Mises, Ralph Raico, but its first English edition in 1962 was titled ''The Free and Prosperous Commonwealth'' rather than ''Liberalism'', as Mises thought that the literal translation would create confusion because the term

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

after the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

and especially in the 1960s became widely used in the United States to refer to a centre-left politics that supports degrees of government intervention, in opposition to Mises' central premise. The English translation was made available online by the

Ludwig von Mises Institute Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973). It wa ...

in 2000.

Publication history

In German

*Ludwig von Mises, ''Liberalismus''.

: Gustav Fischer Verlag, 1927. *Ludwig von Mises, ''Liberalismus''.

Sankt Augustin Sankt Augustin ( Ripuarian: ''Sank Aujustin'') is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is named after the patron saint of the Divine Word Missionaries, Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430). The Missionaries esta ...

: Academia Verlag, 1993. .

In English

The book was translated into English by Ralph Raico. *Ludwig von Mises, ''The Free and Prosperous Commonwealth: An Exposition of the Ideas of Classical Liberalism''.

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

, Van Nostrand, 1962 *Ludwig von Mises, ''Liberalism, a Socio-Economic Exposition (Studies in economic theory)''. Mission, KS: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1978. . *Ludwig von Mises, ''Liberalism: In The Classical Tradition''.

Irvington-on-Hudson, NY Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson,Staff (ndg"The Irvington Gazette (Irvington-On-Hudson, N.Y.) 1907-1969"Library of Congress is a suburban village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is lo ...

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1948 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network. FEE offers pub ...

–

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

: Cobden Press, 1985. . *Ludwig von Mises, ''Liberalism: The Classical Tradition''. Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Foundation for Economic Education, 1996. . *Ludwig von Mises, ''Liberalism: The Classical Tradition''.

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

: Liberty Fund, 2005. .

Reviews

External links

* Full text versions of ''Liberalism'', 1985 edition: *
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{{Authority control Sociology books 1927 non-fiction books Books about liberalism Books about capitalism German books Libertarianism in Germany Books by Ludwig von Mises