The Other Mises – LewRockwell

For many years, since reading a copy of Human Action loaned to me by a friend who had been a close personal friend of Ludwig von Mises, I have been an amateur devotee of the Austrian School of Economics. My professional life has in one way or another revolved around the subject of fluid dynamics (e.g., this book). These two interests have intersected in the very interesting article by the mathematician Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze called Applied Mathematics versus Fluid Dynamics: The Catalytic Role of Richard von Mises (1883—1953). Of course, Richard is the younger brother of Ludwig. It is fascinating to follow the parallel courses of the two brothers through their respective fields of applied mathematics and economics. Guido Hulsmann alludes to the competitive nature of the von Mises family in his authoritative biography of Ludwig, Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism. “Like their mother, Ludwig and Richard wrote with a clear and unpretentious style. From childhood they set for themselves the highest standards. And as they developed taste and expertise, they would judge their own achievements and those of others in the light of these standards.” In particular, among their important contributions, both stressed the great importance of the methodological approach employed.



Mises: The Last Knight…
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In my understanding, Ludwig forcefully contended that economics should rest on the neo-Kantian principles of a priori understanding and from this he logically built an edifice of economic understanding of the real world. He continually fought against the empirical German Historical School. As Hulsmann quotes in Last Knight:

I was still in high school when I noticed a contradiction…

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