How to be a Value-Free Advocate of Laissez Faire
Ludwig von Mises's Solution
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2804699 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J Patrick Gunning, Jeroen Gunning (0000-0002-7275-5475, American University of Sharjah, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 64 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 901-918 |
| Publication date | 2005-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Economics and Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9246 • E-ISSN: 1536-7150 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1536-7150.2005.00397.x |
| OpenAlex | W1509092055 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 3 |
Ludwig von Mises is often regarded as a "champion" of laissez faire. This characterization seems to contradict Mises's clear statement that economics is value free. The aim of this paper is to resolve this apparent contradiction. We accomplish this by distinguishing, as Mises did, between the advocacy of specific laissez-faire policies and the advocacy of a laissez-faire ideology vis-à-vis the alternative ideologies of socialism and interventionism. Mises argued that the logic of a value-free economics could be used to show that socialist and interventionist policies would not achieve a goal that the socialists and interventionists implicitly or explicitly aim to achieve, that of progress in terms of material wealth for the members of society. Thus, Mises resolved the contradiction by shifting the debate from the welfare analysis of particular policies to a logical analysis of the ends of a particular ideology and the means available to achieve those ends.In a seminal paper in neo-Austrian economics, Murray Rothbard criticized Mises. We analyze Rothbard's argument partly as a means of elucidating Mises's views and argue that Rothbard misinterpreted Mises and quoted him out of context. Rothbard failed to adequately support his claim that Mises held the beliefs that Rothbard attributed to him. Moreover, Rothbard's paper undermined the value freedom that Mises regarded as a crucial characteristic of economics
Austrian School · Context (archaeology) · Contradiction · Economics · Epistemology · Ideology · Laissez-faire · Law and economics · Neoclassical economics · Physics · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Praxeology · Socialism · Sociology · Value (mathematics) · von Mises yield criterion · Economic Theory and Institutions · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2022 (18) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |