Author: Zhang Xiaoshu
Ludwig Heinrich Adler von Mises (September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973), male, was a famous master of economics in the 20th century, a major representative of the libertarian movement, and a scholar who contributed to the revival of classical liberalism.
Mises's major works include Epistemological Problems in Economics and Human Action, which delved into economic theory and its methodological foundations and contributed a great deal of valuable thought to the field of economics.
In 2000, Mises was named "the man of the century of libertarianism" by the American magazine Liberty. The most famous economists among his disciples were Frederick Hayek and Murray Rothbard. Among them, Hayek won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1974 for representing liberalism.
The mere fact that a person's opinion is different from that held by the majority of his contemporaries can never be said to be a mentally ill person, and it is the norm of history for a person to hold new ideas and conflict with the ideas of others.
—Ludwig Mises
Albert Einstein said, "If an idea is not ridiculous at first, it is hopeless." "Albert Einstein believed that great ideas are often met with strong opposition from the cowardly world. When a new idea comes out, there is often an uproar, followed by questioning, criticism and abuse.
For example, the ideas of freedom, democracy, and equality were absolutely contrary in the feudal era. If you see an official, you must worship, and you and I must be equal; All beings are slaves, but you have to talk about democracy; The imperial power is bestowed, but you want everyone to be free. It's not a big rebellion, it's something.
If everything known to mankind is regarded as a circle, then the new insight must be outside the circle, and it must not be understood by everyone. If an opinion is easily accepted by everyone, it means that this opinion is just a new combination of cognition in the circle.
And if a society is always in a cognitive circle, then it cannot make any progress. It is the historical norm that new ideas clash with existing ones, not pathologies. Therefore, we need to be tolerant enough of new ideas, rather than just criticizing.
No one has the right to interfere in the affairs of another person in order to promote his own happiness, and no one should use the excuse of selflessness for the sake of his own personal interests to serve the interests of others.
—Ludwig Mises
When summer came, I thought the ants must be dying of heat and thirst, so I poured a few spoonfuls of clean water into the nest, and I thought the ants would be grateful to me. But is that really the case? Are ants really hot? Does it really need water?
Obviously not, it's just that I think it needs it, and what the ants need, I don't know at all and don't care. I gave it what I thought it needed, and I felt a sense of accomplishment and relief, and that was enough. As for the destruction of the nest, I don't feel guilty in the slightest.
People are like this sometimes, our starting point is often "I am for your good", but is it really for your good, or do you think it is good for you to satisfy your desire for "help"? What you think is good, is it really good for others? Shouldn't you ask yourself.
In fact, none of us has the right to interfere in other people's affairs in order to promote their happiness. Because we don't know what kind of things can enhance the happiness of others, what we think is not necessarily what others want, and non-interference is a form of respect for others.
Social progress and development are inseparable from the challenge and innovation of old concepts and systems, and only continuous innovation can promote the progress of human civilization.
—Ludwig Mises
We all know that snake molting is a normal physiological phenomenon, usually young snakes generally molt once every 1-2 months, and adult snakes generally shed their skin once every 3-4 months, because the appearance of snakes is covered with countless scales, but these scales do not grow larger as snakes grow. So if the snake wants to continue growing, it must take off the old scales and replace them with new ones. Molting is actually very painful for snakes, and can even lead to the death of snakes, and at the same time, when molting, snakes move slowly and are very easy to be eaten by predators.
In fact, the same is true of human society, every innovation of concepts and systems needs to endure great suffering, economic development is delayed, and the breaking of the old order and the establishment of a new order need to consume great costs. But, despite this, innovation is still a must for development.
The operation of the market is not chaotic, it is governed by a number of universal and objective laws, which are essential to guide our actions.
—Ludwig Mises
One of the core laws of the free market is supply and demand, which acts as the "baton" of the market, guiding the production and consumption of goods and services. When there is an oversupply of goods, prices fall; And when demand outstrips supply, prices rise. In this way, the market can automatically adjust production and consumption to maintain balance.
Secondly, there is also the law of competition in the free market, in which firms can compete freely with each other to compete for market share. This kind of competition can motivate companies to innovate and improve the quality of products and services, and at the same time, it can also eliminate inefficient companies.
Of course, there is also the law of price in the free market, in which the price is a voluntary agreement between the buyer and the seller, and the price mechanism can automatically regulate the supply and demand of the market to keep the market in balance.
The market may seem complicated, but if you look at it from the perspective of the law, the market becomes very simple. Just like in today's intelligent era, we think everything is so complicated and dazzling, but it is really only 0 and 1 to build it all. When you learn to understand from the perspective of 0 and 1, everything becomes very simple.
True education should cultivate people's ability to think independently and be innovative, rather than simply instilling knowledge and imitating others.
—Ludwig Mises
What is Education? There are different opinions, but what I like more is what the famous German educator Sprunger said: "The ultimate purpose of education is not to teach what is already there, but to induce people's creative power and awaken a sense of life and value." ”
We often say that it is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish, and it is better to teach him the skills of fishing if he gives him the fish directly, and the fish will be eaten, and if he learns to fish, he will have endless fish. The same is true of education, where it is better to inculcate knowledge than to teach him how to acquire it.
Because by instilling knowledge, you can only instill in him what he has, and although this knowledge can make him, it actually limits him. And when he learns to acquire knowledge, then he can not only acquire existing knowledge, but also explore the world on his own to gain new knowledge.
Therefore, real education is not just a simple cramming, not just a simple stuffing of knowledge into our heads, but inspiring, guiding, and awakening. It inspires the ability to think independently, guides the way to acquire knowledge, awakens the sense of value of life, and makes students become truly independent individuals.