Von Mises Our Cover Subject Reviewed

[Introduction and Biographical Sketch of Hans Sennholz]: A brief introduction to the author Hans Sennholz, his academic credentials at Grove City College, and his role as a contributing editor for American Opinion. [The Intellectual Legacy of Ludwig von Mises and Human Action]: Sennholz describes Mises as the uncompromising champion of liberty and compares his magnum opus, Human Action, to Marx's Das Kapital. He includes praise from Rose Wilder Lane and Henry Hazlitt, who view the work as the intellectual annihilation of Marxian fallacy and the most rigorous defense of capitalism. [The Theory of Money and Credit and the Critique of Socialism]: This section examines Mises' earlier works, specifically The Theory of Money and Credit and Socialism. It highlights Mises' revolutionary discovery that socialist societies cannot function rationally because they lack a market price mechanism for economic calculation, a critique that expanded beyond Boehm-Bawerk's earlier technical analysis of Marx. [Monetary Theory, Inflation, and the Gold Standard]: Sennholz discusses Mises' warnings about monetary chaos and his advocacy for the gold standard. Mises argues that sound money requires independence from government policy and that the only way to prevent inflation is to re-establish a free market for gold and 100 percent reserve requirements for checkbook money. [Theory and History and the Decline of Western Civilization]: Focusing on Theory and History and The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality, this segment explores Mises' philosophical defense of freedom against the rising tide of statism. Mises identifies the 'decadence' of the West as its endorsement of anti-capitalistic creeds and the subjection of the individual to paternal authority. [Psychological Analysis of the Socialist Mind]: Sennholz reviews Mises' psychological insights into why individuals reject capitalism. Mises argues that under capitalism, failure is personal, leading many to seek a 'scapegoat' in the economic system to soothe their own feelings of inferiority and resentment toward more successful peers. [Planning for Freedom and the Illusion of Political Liberty]: This section covers Mises' essays on the necessity of economic freedom for the preservation of political freedom. It critiques the Marxian thesis of progressive impoverishment, noting that capitalism actually benefits the masses, and argues that the choice is not between 'plan or no plan' but between individual planning and government omnipotence. [The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science and Epistemology]: Sennholz examines Mises' epistemological work, which defends the a priori nature of economic science against positivism and historicism. Mises argues that economics is based on the self-evident truth that 'man acts' and critiques 'polylogism'—the Marxian idea that different social classes have different logical structures of thought. [The Free and Prosperous Commonwealth and Liberalism]: The final segment reviews Mises' 1926 book on liberalism (The Free and Prosperous Commonwealth). Mises distinguishes genuine liberalism from modern 'pseudoliberalism' (statism) and warns that the abandonment of private property and the free market will lead to the collapse of civilization. Sennholz concludes by making Mises' works required reading.