Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the Total State and Total War (Liberty Fund Library of the Works of Ludwig von Mises)

Published in 1944, during World War II, Omnipotent Government was Mises's first book written and published after he arrived in the United States. In this volume Mises provides in economic terms an explanation of the international conflicts that caused both world wars. Although written more than half a century ago, Mises's main theme still stands: government interference in the economy leads to conflicts and wars. According to Mises, the last and best hope for peace is liberalism—the philosophy of liberty, free markets, limited government, and democracy. Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973) was the leading spokesman of the Austrian School of economics throughout most of the twentieth century. He earned his doctorate in law and economics from the University of Vienna in 1906. In 1926, Mises founded the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research. From 1909 to 1934, he was an economist for the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. Before the Anschluss, in 1934 Mises left for Geneva, where he was a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies until 1940, when he emigrated to New York City. From 1948 to 1969, he was a visiting professor at New York University. Bettina Bien Greaves is a former resident scholar, trustee, and longtime staff member of the Foundation for Economic Education. She has written and lectured extensively on topics of free market economics. Her articles have appeared in such journals as Human Events, Reason, and The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty. A student of Mises, Greaves has become an expert on his work in particular and that of the Austrian School of economics in general. She has translated several Mises monographs, compiled an annotated bibliography of his work, and edited collections of papers by Mises and other members of the Austrian School. Omnipotent Government was published in 1944, when the battle against Nazism held the world’s attention. How had this terrible system gained power? Mises considers and rejects several explanations popular at the time he wrote, such as inherent defects in the German national character. Instead, he looks to the rise of a malignant ideology, which he terms etatism. Mises begins by showing how Prussian liberalism collapsed. Intellectuals spurned the free market in favor of schemes, lacking all support in sound economic theory, which stressed the role of the state in promoting national power and prosperity. The Nazi system developed and extended the earlier etatist trends of the Bismarckian and Wilhelmine epochs. Hitler claimed, in classic etatist fashion, that Germany needed to expand in order to feed its growing population. Hitler’s idea made sense within his etatist presuppositions: in order to see what is wrong with it, one needs to understand correct economic theory. This teaches that free trade, not conquest of foreign territories, is the best means to advance prosperity. Mises resolutely rejects the Marxist canard that Nazism was an expression of monopoly capitalism. To the contrary, Nazism was a form of socialism: the forms of private property were retained, but control and planning were in the hands of the state. Mises concludes with a discussion of reform measures to be undertaken after the hostilities of World War II end. He calls for peace and the free market and subjects to withering criticism proposals for global central planning. Omnipotent Government displays to the full Mises’s immense historical knowledge and his unrivaled grasp of economic principles. It is an indispensable guide to understanding nineteenth and twentieth-century European history. Preface 6 Table of Contents 9 Introduction 12 I 12 II 18 III 19 IV 21 V 25 Part I: The Collapse of German Liberalism 29 I. German Liberalism 29 1. The Ancien Régime and Liberalism 29 2. The Weakness of German Liberalism 33 3. The Prussian Army 34 4. The Constitutional Conflict in Prussia 38 5. The “Little German” Program 40 6. The Lassalle Episode 42 II. The Triumph of Militarism 44 1. The Prussian Army in the New German Empire 44 2. German Militarism 46 3. The Liberals and Militarism 51 4. The Current Explanation of the Success of Militarism 52 Part II: Nationalism 55 III. Etatism 55 1. The New Mentality 55 2. The State 57 3. The Political and Social Doctrines of Liberalism 59 4. Socialism 62 5. Socialism in Russia and in Germany 66 6. Interventionism 69 7. Etatism and Protectionism 77 8. Economic Nationalism and Domestic Monopoly Prices 80 9. Autarky 83 10. German Protectionism 85 IV. Etatism and Nationalism 90 1. The Principle of Nationality 90 2. The Linguistic Group 95 3. Liberalism and the Principle of Nationality 100 4. Aggressive Nationalism 104 5. Colonial Imperialism 107 6. Foreign Investment and Foreign Loans 112 7. Total War 115 8. Socialism and War 118 V. Refutation of Some Fallacious Explanations 123 1. The Shortcomings of Current Explanations 123 2. The Alleged Irrationality of Nationalism 123 3. The Aristocratic Doctrine 127 4. Misapprehended Darwinism 131 5. The Role of Chauvinism 133 6. The Role of Myths 136 Part III: German Nazism 140 VI. The Peculiar Characteristics of German Nationalism 140 1. The Awakening 140 2. The Ascendancy of Pan-Germanism 142 3. German Nationalism Within an Etatist World 146 4. A Critique of German Nationalism 149 5. Nazism and German Philosophy 151 6. Polylogism 154 7. Pan-Germanism and Nazism 158 VII. The Social Democrats in Imperial Germany 160 1. The Legend 160 2. Marxism and the Labor Movement 161 3. The German Workers and the German State 166 4. The Social Democrats Within the German Caste System 172 5. The Social Democrats and War 175 VIII. Anti-Semitism and Racism 180 1. The Role of Racism 180 2. The Struggle against the Jewish Mind 185 3. Interventionism and Legal Discrimination against Jews 192 4. The “Stab in the Back” 197 5. Anti-Semitism as a Factor in International Politics 199 IX. The Weimar Republic and Its Collapse 204 1. The Weimar Constitution 204 2. The Abortive Socialization 214 3. The Armed Parties 217 4. The Treaty of Versailles 222 5. The Economic Depression 229 6. Nazism and German Labor 230 7. The Foreign Critics of Nazism 232 X. Nazism as a World Problem 240 1. The Scope and Limitations of History 240 2. The Fallacy of the Concept of “National Character” 242 3. Germany’s Rubicon 245 4. The Alternative 248 Part IV: The Future of Western Civilization 251 XI. The Delusions of World Planning 251 1. The Term “Planning” 251 2. The Dictatorship Complex 252 3. A World Government 254 4. Planned Production 257 5. Foreign Trade Agreements 260 6. Monetary Planning 262 7. Planning International Capital Transactions 265 XII. Peace Schemes 267 1. Armament Control 267 2. A Critique of Some Other Schemes Proposed 271 3. The Union of the Western Democracies 276 4. Peace in Eastern Europe 282 5. The Problems of Asia 289 6. The Role of the League of Nations 291 Conclusion 293 I 293 II 295 III 297 IV 299 Index 300 Ludwig Von Mises Was The Leading Exponent Of The Austrian School Of Economics Throughout Most Of The Twentieth Century. He Has Long Been Regarded As A Most Knowledgeable And Respected Economist, Even Though His Teachings Were Generally Outside The Mainstream. He Wrote Twenty-five Books And Hundreds Of Articles On Human Action, Free Markets, And Political Economy. In The Preface To Omnipotent Government, Mises Argues That However Admirable The Ends Sought By Governments, The Policies Used To Achieve Them Can Have Disastrous Effects On Citizens. When Government Policies Interfere With Business And The Free Interchanges People Have With One Another, It Leads To Economic Depression, Unemployment, Inflation, And Rising Prices. Written In 1944, Omnipotent Government Demonstrates That Nationalism, Or Etatism, To Use Mises's Term, Which He Characterizes As A Blueprint For Political And Military Action, Results When Governments Interfere With The Economy. And Etatism Thus Determines The Foreign Policy Of Those Nations. Trade Walls, Migration Barriers, And Foreign Exchange Control Provide Ample Incentives For Conflict And War. World War Ii Was The Inevitable Result Of Nazi Germany's Interventionism, Etatism, And Antiûfree Trade Policies. Although Mises's Primary Target Is Nazism, There Is A Much Broader Application For His Theories Regarding The Stifling Effect Totalitarian Governments Have On The Development Of Technologies For Improving The Well-being Of Citizens. What He Wrote In 1944 Is Still True Today: Mankind Has Not Reached The Stage Of Ultimate Technological Perfection. There Is Ample Room For Further Progress And For Further Improvement Of The Standards Of Living. The Creative And Inventive Spirit ... Flourishes Only Where There Is Economic Freedom. Formerly A Resident Scholar, Trustee, And Longtime Staff Member Of The Foundation For Economic Education, Bettina Bien Greaves Has Written And Lectured Extensively On Topics Of Free Market Economics. Her Articles Have Appeared In Such Journals As Human Events, Reason, And The Freeman: Ideas On Liberty. A Student Of Mises, Greaves Has Become An Expert On His Work In Particular And That Of The Austrian School Of Economics In General. She Has Translated Several Mises Monographs, Compiled An Annotated Bibliography Of His Work, And Edited Collections Of Papers By Mises And Other Members Of The Austrian School. --book Jacket. The Collapse Of German Liberalism: German Liberalism ; The Triumph Of Militarism -- Nationalism: Etatism ; Etatism And Nationalism ; Refutation Of Some Fallacious Explanations -- German Nazism: The Peculiar Characteristics Of German Nationalism ; The Social Democrats In Imperial Germany ; Anti-semitism And Racism ; The Wiemar Republic And Its Collapse ; Nazism As A World Problem -- The Future Of Western Civilization: The Delusions Of World Planning ; Peace Schemes -- Conclusion. Ludwig Von Mises ; Edited And With A Foreword By Bettina Bien Greaves. First Published In 1944 By Yale University Press. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. PART I: THE COLLAPSE OF GERMAN LIBERALISM Chapter I. German Liberalism 1. The Ancien Regime and Liberalism 2. The Weakness of German Liberalism 3. The Prussian Army 4. The Constitutional Conflict in Prussia 5. The “Little German” Program 6. The Lassalle Episode Chapter II. The Triumph of Militarism 1. The Prussian Army in the New German Empire 2. German Militarism 3. The Liberals and Militarism 4. The Current Explanation of the Success of Militarism PART II: NATIONALISM Chapter III. Etatism 1. The New Mentality 2. The State 3. The Political and Social Doctrines of Liberalism 4. Socialism 5. Socialism in Russia and in Germany 6. Interventionism 7. Etatism and Protectionism 8. Economic Nationalism and Domestic Monopoly Prices 9. Autarky 10. German Protectionism Chapter IV Etatism and Nationalism 1. The Principle of Nationality 2. The Linguistic Group 3. Liberalism and the Principle of Nationality 4. Aggressive Nationalism 5. Colonial Imperialism 6. Foreign Investment and Foreign Loans 7. Total War 8. Socialism and War Chapter V. Refutation of Some Fallacious Explanations 1. The Shortcomings of Current Explanations 2. The Alleged Irrationality of Nationalism 3. The Aristocratic Doctrine 4. Misapprehended Darwinism 5. The Role of Chauvinism 6. The Role of Myths PART III: GERMAN NAZISM Chapter VI. The Peculiar Characteristics of German Nationalism 1. The Awakening 2. The Ascendancy of Pan-Germanism 3. German Nationalism Within an Etatist World 4. A Critique of German Nationalism 5. Nazism and German Philosophy 6. Polylogism 7. Pan-Germanism and Nazism Chapter VII. The Social Democrats in Imperial Germany 1. The Legend 2. Marxism and the Labor Movement 3. The German Workers and the German State 4. The Social Democrats Within the German Caste System 5. The Social Democrats and War Chapter VIII. Anti-Semitism and Racism 1. The Role of Racism 2. The Struggle against the Jewish Mind 3. Interventionism and Legal Discrimination against Jews 4. The “Stab in the Back” 5. Anti-Semitism as a Factor in International Politics Chapter IX. The Weimar Republic and Its Collapse 1. The Weimar Constitution 2. The Abortive Socialization 3. The Armed Parties 4. The Treaty of Versailles 5. The Economic Depression 6. Nazism and German Labor 7. The Foreign Critics of Nazism Chapter X. Nazism as a World Problem 1. The Scope and Limitations of History 2. The Fallacy of the Concept of “National Character” 3. Germany’s Rubicon 4. The Alternative PART IV: THE FUTURE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION Chapter XI. The Delusions of World Planning 1. The Term “Planning” 2. The Dictatorship Complex 3. A World Government 4. Planned Production 5. Foreign Trade Agreements 6. Monetary Planning 7. Planning International Capital Transactions Chapter XII. Peace Schemes 1. Armament Control 2. A Critique of Some Other Schemes Proposed 3. The Union of the Western Democracies 4. Peace in Eastern Europe 5. The Problems of Asia 6. The Role of the League of Nations Conclusion Published in 1944, during World War II, Omnipotent Government was Mises's first book written and published after he arrived in the United States. In this volume Mises provides in economic terms an explanation of the international conflicts that caused both world wars. Although written more than half a century ago, Mises's main theme still stands: government interference in the economy leads to conflicts and wars. According to Mises, the last and best hope for peace is liberalism—the philosophy of liberty, free markets, limited government, and democracy. Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973) was the leading spokesman of the Austrian School of economics throughout most of the twentieth century. Bettina Bien Greaves is a former resident scholar and trustee of the Foundation for Economic Education and was a senior staff member at FEE from 1951 to 1999. Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. Presents an explanation of the international conflicts that caused both world wars. This title provides the main theme: government interference in the economy leads to conflicts and wars. It states that the last and best hope for peace is liberalism - the philosophy of liberty, free markets, limited government, and democracy.