''The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality'' is a book written 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 ...

. It is an investigation into the psychological roots of the anti-capitalistic stance that Mises saw as widespread in the general populations of the capitalist world. Mises suggests various reasons for this mentality, primarily his claim that free competition in the market economy allows for no excuses of one's failures.

Frustrated ambition

'In a society based on caste and status, the individual can ascribe adverse fate to conditions beyond his own control. or instanceHe is a slave because the superhuman powers that determine all becoming had assigned him this rank. ..It is quite another thing under capitalism. Here everybody's station in life depends on his own doing ..The sway of the principle, ''to each according to his accomplishments'', does not allow of any excuse for personal shortcomings' (pp. 11–12) According to the author, faced with this burden many who have fared poorly in the market economy seek a scapegoat to shift the blame from themselves and restore their self-image.

Common misunderstandings

According to von Mises, Marxian philosophy has heavily influenced the way the general public interprets its economic condition and perceives of capitalism. The average wage-earner's high standard of living is viewed as an inevitable result of 'self-acting progress', akin to Marx's 'material productive forces'. It is believed that these material productive forces (e.g. technological innovations) are not only independent of capitalism but will eventually force capitalism to yield to more advanced forms of socialist organisation. Until that day the capitalists will continue to refuse workers their fair share of this progress. The notion of 'fair share' is devoid of meaning, because both capital and labour are necessary to produce goods and it is impossible to assign a proportion of the end product as belonging to either labour or capital. He also argues that even more importantly the historical increase in the average wage-earner's rewards is due solely to the accumulation of capital, and in particular to "the fact that the rate of capital accumulation exceeds the rate of increase in population' (p. 88). According to von Mises, "All pseudo-economic doctrines which depreciate the role of saving and capital accumulation are absurd ..What has improved the wage earners' standard of living is the fact that the capital equipment per head of the men eager to earn wages has increased. It is a consequence of this fact that an ever increasing portion of the total amount of usable goods produced goes to the wage earners" (p. 89)

Criticism

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' called it a "resoundingly silly"

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economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

and "a sad little book" that is simplistically

dogmatic Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...

and displays "

cocksure ''Cocksure'' is a novel by Mordecai Richler. It was first published in 1968 by McClelland and Stewart. A satirical work, the novel centres on Mortimer Griffin, a middle-class Anglican from Caribou, Ontario who has built a successful career as ...

superficiality" in an abusive tone. The

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

suggested that the book would receive "low marks if presented by a second-year

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to his

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," and that "the case for freedom ... is ill served" by such a book. It accused von Mises of attacking

straw men A straw man (sometimes written as strawman) is a form of logical argument, argument and an informal fallacy of having the impression of refuting an argument, whereas the real subject of the argument was not addressed or refuted, but instead repla ...

and having contempt for the facts of

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

, comparing him in that respect to

Marxists Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectic ...

. Conservative commentator and former Communist

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938), ...

published a similarly negative review in the ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

'', stating that Mises's thesis that anti-capitalist sentiment was rooted in "envy" epitomized "know-nothing conservatism" at its "know-nothingest."Quoted in

Sam Tanenhaus Sam Tanenhaus (born October 31, 1955) is an American historian, biographer, and journalist. He currently is a writer for '' Prospect''. Early years Tanenhaus received his B.A. in English from Grinnell College in 1977 and a M.A. in English Liter ...

, ''Whittaker Chambers: A Biography'', (Random House, New York, 1997), p. 500. .

Publication history

* D Van Nostrand Company, 1956 * Libertarian Press, 1981 *

Liberty Fund Liberty Fund, Inc. is an American private educational foundation headquartered in Carmel, founded by Pierre F. Goodrich. Through publishing, conferences, and educational resources, the operating mandate of the Liberty Fund was set forth in an un ...

, 2006, (cloth), (paperback) *

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 ...

, 2008 (reprint of the Van Nostrand edition)

Translations

* German: ''Die Wurzeln des Antikapitalismus'', Frankfurt am Main: Knapp, 1979 * Italian: ''La mentalità anticapitalistica'', Roma: Armando, 1988 * Korean: 자본주의정신과반자본주의심리 / ''Chabonjuŭi chŏngsin kwa panjabonjuŭi simni'', 한국경제연구원, Sŏul Tʻŭkpyŏlsi : Hanʼguk Kyŏngje Yŏnʼguwŏn, 1995 * Polish: ''Mentalność antykapitalistyczna'', Kraków: Wydawnictwo Arcana, 2005 * Spanish: ''La mentalidad anticapitalista'', Valencia: Fundación Ignacio Villalonga, 1957 * Swedish: ''Den antikapitalistiska mentaliteten'', Stockholm:

Natur & Kultur Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with head office in Stockholm known for an extensive series of teaching materials. Its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan Hansson and his wif ...

, 1957

References

External links

''The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality'', 1956 edition: *
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Anti-Capitalistic Mentality 1956 non-fiction books Books by Ludwig von Mises Political books