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
Rulers do not like to admit that their power is restricted by any laws other than those of physics and biology. They never ascribe their failures and frustrations to the violation of economic law.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights how leaders often ignore the limitations imposed by economic principles and prefer to blame external factors for their failures.
Ludwig Von Mises suggests that those in positions of power tend to operate under the illusion that their authority is absolute, disregarding the essential rules of economics that govern society. When faced with setbacks, these rulers avoid acknowledging the impact of economic laws, often attributing their challenges to physical or biological constraints instead, reflecting a broader tendency to evade accountability for their actions and decisions.
Themes
PowerEconomicsLawsFailureAuthority
In practice
Example use cases
A political analyst might use this quote while discussing the responsibilities of government leaders during economic downturns.
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.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
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.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
The most serious dangers for American freedom and the American way of life do not come from without.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
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.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
Each epoch has found in the Gospels what it sought to find there, and has overlooked what it wished to overlook.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
Similar quotes
Woe, destruction, ruin, and decay; the worst is death and death will have his day.
William ShakespeareRead
A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.
Eric HofferRead
It is for us to make the effort. The result is always in God's hands.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Be silent. That heart speaks without tongue or lips.
RumiRead
Our greatest gain is to lose the wealth that is of such brief duration and, by comparison with eternal things, of such little worth; yet we get upset about it and our gain turns to loss.
Teresa Of AvilaRead
Surely a long life must be somewhat tedious, since we are forced to call in so many trifling things to help rid us of our time, which will never return.
Samuel JohnsonRead