The idea that political freedom can be preserved in the absence of economic freedom, and vice versa, is an illusion. Political freedom is the corollary of economic freedom.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
In the long run the ideas of the majority, however detrimental they may be, will carry on. The future of mankind depends on the ability of the elite to influence public opinion in the right direction.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The majority's ideas will prevail, but the influential elite can guide them positively.
Ludwig Von Mises highlights the power of the majority's ideas in shaping the future, regardless of their potential harmfulness. He emphasizes the crucial role of intellectual elites in guiding public opinion toward beneficial outcomes, suggesting that the direction of humanity's future relies on their ability to influence the masses positively.
Themes
MajorityElitePublic OpinionInfluenceIdeas
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of critical thinking, this quote can underscore the need for responsible leadership.
More from Ludwig Von Mises
All quotes →Wars of aggression are popular nowadays with those nations convinced that only victory and conquest could improve their material well-being.
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Only stilted pedants can conceive the idea that there are absolute norms to tell what is beautiful and what is not. They try to derive from the works of the past a code of rules with which, as they fancy, the writers and artists of the future should comply. But the genius does not cooperate with the pundit.
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The most serious dangers for American freedom and the American way of life do not come from without.
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The public firm can nowhere maintain itself in free competition with the private firm; it is possible today only where it has a monopoly that excludes competition. Even that alone is evidence of its lesser economic productivity.
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Each epoch has found in the Gospels what it sought to find there, and has overlooked what it wished to overlook.
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