Ludwig Von Mises Collection Finding Aid Finding Aid Created by Lauren Eisenhart-Purvis
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Grove City College Archives Ludwig von Mises Collection Finding Aid Finding Aid created by Lauren Eisenhart-Purvis Copyright Grove City College 2018 Ludwig von Mises Collection Finding Aid Summary: Creators: Ludwig and Margit von Mises Length: 45 linear feet Dates: 1900-1989 Bulk Dates: 1934-1974 Languages: Materials are in English, German, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Polish, and Finnish. Materials: Correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, books. Restrictions: None Cite as: Ludwig von Mises Collection, Grove City College Archives Introduction: The Ludwig von Mises Collection at Grove City College consists of the personal papers of economist and author Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973.) The College purchased the collection in 1978 from Mrs. Margit von Mises. All copyright of published materials within the collection remains with the von Mises estate. Use or publication of all other materials or manuscripts are retained by Grove City College. The collection's purchase and its first inventory were made possible by a grant from the J. Howard Pew Freedom Trust with assistance from the Glenmede Trust Company. The first inventory was processed by L. John Van Til in September 1978. An inventory was published and the collection was stored in five metal cabinets. Through normal use and natural physical deterioration, the collection fell into disarray and in the fall of 1991, the College hired Ellen M. Reeher to re-catalogue the Mises papers. Subsequently, the collection was again neglected and was not being stored properly in a climate controlled room so in the summer of 2016 it was transferred from the care of the Economics Department to the College Archives. The archives received grant funding through the U.S. Justice Foundation, which enabled Lauren Eisenhart-Purvis to be hired in the summer of 2018 to arrange, catalogue, and digitize the collection. Biographical Information (taken from Reeher and Van Til finding aids): Economist and author Ludwig von Mises was born on September 29, 19881 in Lemberg, Austria. The eldest son of Arthur von Mises, he attended the Akademisskes Gymnasium in Vienna from 1892 to 1900. Mises graduated from the University of Vienna in 1905 and received his Doctor of Law and Social Sciences in 1906. His career as a writer and economist began in 1902 with a monograph in German titled The Development of the Feudal-Peasant Relationship in Galicia: 1772-1848, and continued throughout his long life with the publication of sixteen books, several scholarly monographs, and more than 200 essays, articles and reviews. In 1913, Mises began teaching at the University of Vienna in Austria. His academic career, however, was interrupted by World War I when he served in the Austro-Hungarian Army, both as an advisor to the General Staff and in the artillery. After the war, Mises returned to the University of Vienna and continued teaching until 1934 when, in anticipation of serious trouble to come in Austria, he left to accept a position at the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva. During this time, Mises also served as economic advisor to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce from 1909 to 1938. LvM Finding Aid 1 While in Geneva, Mises married Margit H. Sereny on July 6, 1938. In 1940, after Mises had spent six years as professor of International Economic Relations at the Institut, they emigrated to the United States. Although he initially experienced a period of academic isolation, Mises became active as a consulting economist and developed an extensive network of intellectual relationships. His contacts included such organizations as the National Association of Manufacturers, the Foundation for Economic Education, the William Volker Fund, and Standard Oil, many of which continued to the end of his career. Finally, in 1945, Mises began teaching at New York University as a Visiting Professor of Economics and remained there until his retirement in 1969. Despite his rigorous intellectual standards, Mises was an enthusiastic teacher and became a friend and mentor to many of his students. Most were drawn to Mises' classes because of the free-market ideas expressed in his prolific writing. Mises' most able students, however, were admitted to his private circle. His private seminar, the famous 'Mises Circle', in Vienna, recruited or produced a remarkable number of respected scholars in the fields of philosophy, social theory, politics, and economics. His graduate seminar at New York University and the ‘Mises Dinner Circle’ which grew out of it helped continue his influence throughout his later years among a growing group of young intellectuals and serious students. In addition to his vigorous academic career, Mises was an internationally known lecturer and author. The absolute need to stem the tide of socialism drove Mises to regularly address audiences, both in the United States and abroad, until he was well into his late eighties. His rigorous exposition of the philosophy of the free market and his advocacy of a free society created many admirers, especially among the business classes of the world's emerging democracies. Author of literally hundreds of books and articles, his major works are recognized as classics of economic thought: 1. The Theory of Money and Credit (First German language edition, 1912; First English edition, 1934). 2. Socialism (First German language edition, 1922, First English edition, 1926). 3. Human Action: A Treatise on Economics (First edition, 1949). To appreciate the importance of Mises’ book on money and credit, first published in 1912, one must compare it with other literature of its time. The legalistic treatment of money in the German literature of that day had neglected all effects of monetary policy on prices and economic activity while the mechanistic approach to money by so many Anglo-American writers focused chiefly on its effect on 'price levels.' In contrast to these styles, Mises and other authors of the 'Austrian School' stressed the influence on the demand for money, relative prices and production of individual preferences, value judgments, and expectations in their writings. In Mises' work, Socialism, he not only presented a fascinating history and analysis of socialistic thought, he also explained the impossibility of economic calculation in a socialist economy. Socialist writers had never paid attention to the significance of pricing productive goods and services in allocating productive resources efficiently. Mises, however, explained that only competitive markets can generate the prices needed for the efficient allocation of resources – to assure consistency with consumer preferences. Mises' major treatise, Human Action, differs in conception, organization, epistemology and ideology from all conventional books on economics. In this single volume, Mises compounded an all embracing philosophy, epistemology, and theory of human action. Mises LvM Finding Aid 2 developed these ideas from work done by his intellectual mentors of ‘logical economics,’ most notably, Carl Menger and Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk. Mises was interested in the practical application of his academic theories and, in 1926, established the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research. He was also active in the founding of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947. This is an international society of economists, businessmen, and others interested in free market economics. Despite his long career as both an esteemed professor and a prolific author, Mises did not receive extensive honors during his lifetime. Although he taught at the University of Vienna only as a Privatdozent, a part-time lecturer, the University gave him the title of 'Professor Extraordinary' in 1918, in recognition of his scholarly accomplishments. He was also awarded honorary doctorates by Grove City College (1957), New York University (1963), and the University of Freiburg (1964). In 1962, the Austrian government granted him an award of merit (Oesterrcichisches Ehrenzeichen zur Kunst und Wissenschaft) for his contributions to the arts and sciences. The American Economic Association also elected Mises as a Distinguished Fellow in 1969. Two Festschriften were published in Mises’ honor. On Freedom and Free Enterprise was published in 1956 on the fiftieth anniversary of his doctorate. Toward Liberty was published in 1971 on the occasion of Mises' ninetieth birthday. Scope & Content: The Ludwig von Mises Collection consists of correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and books. The dates of the collection are 1900-1989, with the bulk dates being 1934-1974. Significant correspondents are Faustino Ballve, John Birch, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Kenneth E. Boulding, The Committee for Economic Development, Herbert C. Cornuelle, Philip Cortney, Luigi Einaudi, Lawrence Fertig, The Foundation for Economic Education Inc., Barry Goldwater, Pierre Goodrich, Percy L. Greaves, Ralph W. Gwinn, Gottfried Haberler, Otto von Habsburg, L. Albert Hahn, F.A. Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, Katanga Freedom Fighters, Emil Kauder, Israel Mayer Kirzner, George Koether, Rose Wilder Lane, Bruno Leoni, Robert LeFevre, Pierre Lhoste-Lachaume, Fritz Machlup, Mont Pelerin Society, Volkmar Muthesius, National Association of Manufacturers, Frederick Nymeyer, J. Howard Pew, Ayn Rand, William Rappard, Leonard E. Read, George Reisman, Wilhelm Ropke, Murray Rothbard, Louis Rougier, Alexander Rustow, Hans Sennholz, Frederich Unger, Gustavo Velasco, Robert H. Welch Jr., the William Volker Charities Fund, and Yale University