Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth

Ludwig von Mises

First published 1975

Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth

in Collective Economic Planning , Friedrich A. Hayek, ed. Clifton, NJ: Kelley Publishing, 1975, pp. 87-130, and Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1990.47 pagesISBN 9781610165501Updated August 15, 2012

Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth by Ludwig von Mises is available as a free PDF, EPUB, and HTML download at freecapitalists.org.

Author: Ludwig von Mises
First published: 1975
Format: PDF, EPUB, and HTML
Pages: 47
ISBN: 9781610165501
License: Unverified

Austrian theory & method The state & socialism

This is the essay that overthrew the socialist paradigm in economics, and provided the foundation for modern Austrian price theory. When it first appeared in 1920, Mises was alone in challenging the socialists to explain how their pricing system would actually work in practice.

Mises proved that socialism could not work because it could not distinguish more or less valuable uses of social resources, and predicted the system would end in chaos. The result of his proof was the two-decade-long "socialist calculation" debate. This new edition contains an afterword by Joseph Salerno, who applies the calculation argument to contemporary problems like environmentalism and business regulation.

Table of Contents:

The Distribution of Consumption Goods in the Socialist Commonwealth
The Nature of Economic Calculation
Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth
Responsibility and Initiative in Communal Concerns
The Most Recent Socialist Doctrines and the Problem of Economic Calculation

"The significance of Mises's 1920 article extends far beyond its devastating demonstration of the impossibility of socialist economy and society. It provides the rationale for the price system, purely free markets, the security of private property against all encroachments, and sound money. Its thesis will continue to be relevant as long as economists and policy-makers want to understand why even minor government economic interventions consistently fail to achieve socially beneficial results. "Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth" surely ranks among the most important economic articles written this century."
-Joseph T. Salerno, from the afterword

Also here, free

Listen to Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth, a free recorded reading (8 recordings, 2 hours). Stream it here or download the audio.

Questions

About this book and this copy

Is Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth free to download?: Yes. The complete 47-page PDF, EPUB, and HTML downloads directly from this page (177 KB). There is no signup, no account and no paywall.
How long is Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth?: 47 pages, 9 chapters, and about 17,931 words in the edition this archive serves.
Is there an audiobook of Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth?: Yes. This archive holds a free recorded reading (8 recordings, 2 hours). It streams in the browser or downloads as audio, at no cost and with no signup.
Who wrote Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth?: Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973) was the acknowledged leader of the Austrian School of economics and a prolific author on economic theory, epistemology, and political philosophy. This archive holds 68 of von Mises's works.

What's in it

9 chapters · 17,931 words

Introduction by Ludwig von Mises
1. The Distribution of Consumption Goods in the Socialist Commonwealth
2. The Nature of Economic Calculation
3. Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth
4. Responsibility and Initiative in Communal Concerns
5. The Most Recent Socialist Doctrines and the Problem of Economic Calculation
Conclusion
Postscript: Why a Socialist Economy is “Impossible” by Joseph T. Salerno Mises’s Thesis
Notes

About the author

Ludwig von Mises 1881–1973

Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973) was the acknowledged leader of the Austrian School of economics and a prolific author on economic theory, epistemology, and political philosophy. Read more about Ludwig von Mises.

In the lecture archive

Lectures that discuss Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth

8 recorded talks in this archive name this book. The 6 that discuss it most, each linked to the moment it comes up:

Ending the Monetary Fiasco and Returning to Sound Money

Thorsten Polleit · Austrian Scholars Conference 2009

In his monograph Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth, Mises in 1920 irrefutably demonstrated that socialism was doomed to fail, outstanding achievement in a time when everybody basically believed socialism is the new societal order.

Hear it at 10:31
Surface Water Allocation in Alberta: Lesson from the Economic Calculation Debate

Danny G. LeRoy · Austrian Scholars Conference 2011

The economic calculation debate began in 1920 with the publication of Ludwig von Mises' Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth.

Hear it at 12:51
Unbreakable Union: Lessons Learned from the Demise of the Soviet Union

Yuri N. Maltsev · Austrian Scholars Conference 2011

His journal article of 1920, Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth, was a blockbuster, demonstrating for the first time that socialism was an unviable system for an industrial economy.

Hear it at 10:41
08. The Debate on the Socialist Calculation Debate (video)

Joseph T. Salerno · Austrian School of Economics: Revisionist History and Contemporary Theory

Basically, the debate was started by Ludwig von Mises in the 1920s, in his famous article, Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth, which was published in 1920, and then was incorporated into a book that he wrote on socialism in …

Hear it at 0:56
10. A Copernican Shift

Jörg Guido Hülsmann · Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism

On November 14th, 1919, Mises told him the title of the first of these pieces, Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth.

Hear it at 4:10
Chapter 3: Why Austrian Economics Matters

Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. · Speaking of Liberty

In 1920, Mises had written one of the most important articles of the century, quote, Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth, Followed by his book, Socialism.

Hear it at 5:28