Ludwig von Mises

"The businessman who cuts corners will eventually be exposed and punished by the market."

"Voluntary exchange is the foundation of all peaceful human cooperation."

"A man's greatest enemy is often his own ignorance of economic law."

"The expansion of government power is always presented as being for the public good."

"Economic freedom and personal freedom are inseparable."

"The market does not require faith or belief; it operates according to inexorable laws."

"A person who understands economics will see through the fallacies that deceive most people."

"The real danger to civilization comes not from capitalism, but from the abandonment of capitalism."

"Savings, not consumption, is the true driver of economic growth and prosperity."

"A nation that cannot control its money cannot control its destiny."

"The most important thing to understand about government is that it has the power to coerce, and this power is inherently dangerous to liberty."

"Capitalism has allowed us to escape the natural condition of mankind, which is universal poverty."

"The entrepreneurs are engaged in a daily plebiscite in which every penny spent is a vote for their continued production."

"Human action is purposeful behavior directed toward the attainment of desired ends."

"Economic calculation is only possible under capitalism because only capitalism produces market prices."

"The gold standard is not a perfect institution, but it is the best we can devise to prevent tyranny."

"A man who has no systematic philosophy will be the slave of his own random thoughts."

"The most destructive force in the world is the power of government to regulate the economy."

"There is no such thing as collective thinking; there are only individual minds thinking."

"The businessman is not interested in your welfare; he is interested in your money, and that is his virtue."

"Inflation is a hidden tax on the people, more destructive than any overt taxation."

"The road to serfdom is paved with the best intentions of those who wish to regulate the economy."

"Knowledge cannot be transferred like a physical commodity; each man must acquire it himself."

"The greatest achievement of capitalism is that it has made the satisfaction of human needs a profitable enterprise."

"There are no such things as social problems; there are only problems of individuals."

"Whoever would attempt to educate a man in the principles of freedom must begin by teaching him to think."

"The price system is a mechanism for coordinating human action in a way no central authority could ever achieve."

"You cannot spend what you have not earned; living beyond your means is living in an illusion."

"The problem with socialism is not that it works badly; it is that it cannot work at all."

"Human progress is not automatic; it requires constant vigilance against those who would restrict liberty."