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The Free Market
My Years With Ludwig von Misesby Margit von Mises
The Institute's academic work with faculty and grastudents,
visiting scholars, publications, and such teaprograms as the
Austrian Economics Colloquium wheadquartered in our new building on
theAuburn camPolicy analysis from an Austrian economics
viewpointferences, outreach publications, public and membeaffairs,
and our Congressional economics briefing seriebe expanded in
Washington at new and larger of
(Continued on p
U.S. Capitolamford Hall, Auburn UniversityThe Mi ses Insti tute
Expandsin Auburn and WashingtonIn 1985 the Mises Institute will be
expanding at Au
University and in Washington, D.C., to better accomits
educational work."In recognition of the Institute's rapid growth
an
contribution to Auburn," said Professor Robert F. HeHead of the
Economics Department, "the Universityallocated a separate building
to the Institute.""This building, located near the School of
Business
give the Ins ti tu te its own identity on campus," saiHebert,
"and, along wi th its rooms in Thach Hall, ma substantial increase
in office, student, and work sp
Competition at Work: Xerox at 25by Murray N. RothbardA little
over twenty-five years ago a revolutionary event
occurred in the world of business and in American
societygenerally. It was a revolution accomplished without
bloodshed and without anyone being executed. The Xerox 914,the
world's first fully-automated plain-paper copier, wasexhibited to
the press in New York City.Before then copiers existed, but they
were clumsy and
complex, they took a long time, and the final productwas afuzzy
mess imprinted on special, unattractive pink paper.The advent
ofXerox ushered in the photocopying age, andwas successful to such
an extent that within a decade theword "xerox" was in danger of
slipping out of trademarkand b e ~ o m i n g a generic term in the
public domain.Many people, and even some economists, believe
that
large, highly capitalized firms can always outcompete smallones.
Nothing could be fur ther from the truth . In the preXerox age, the
photography industry was dominated, a tleast in the United States,
by one giant, Eastman Kodak.And yet it was not Kodak or any other
giant business ormassive research facility that invented or even
developedthe Xerox process. It was invented, instead, by one
man,Chester Carlson, a New York City patent attorney, who didthe
initial experiments in the kitchen of his apartmenthome in 1938.
Carlson then looked around for a firm thatwould develop a
commercial product from his invention.He first thought of Eastman
Kodak, bu t Kodak told him itwould never work, that it was too
complex, would be toocostly to develop, and, most remarkably of
all, would haveonly a small potential market! The same answer was
givento Carlson by twenty-one other large firms such as IBM.They
were the "experts"; how could they all be wrong?Finally, one small
firm in Rochester took a gamble on the
Xerox project. Haloid Co., a photographic paper manufacturer
with annual sales of less than $7 million, bought therights to the
process from Carlson in 1947, and spent $20million and twelve years
before the mighty Xerox 914came on the market in the fateful fall
of 1959. Horace
(Continued on page 4)
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F ro m t he British W e s t Indies"Please send me literature
regarding...the 'Austrian
School' of economic thought.... I think your work offersmore
potential than alternatives seen in my lifetime."F r om a f o u n d
a t i on p r es i de n t"We take pleasure again in supporting the
work of the
Institute on behal f of free markets and a broadening ofpersonal
freedoms."Fro m a N e w Y o rk b u si n es s c o ns u lt a nt"I
have organized a group of ten people interested in
studying the ideas of Ludwig von Mises and
otherAustrianeconomists.... One way that the ideas ofAustrian
economicscan become more widely accepted is to allow more
peopleaccess to those ideas."If you know of a PhD or PhD student
who might serve
as a possible instructor for our group, I would very
muchappreciate your a d v i c e . " ~ ' (Fro m a c o l l eg e s t u
de n t in Minne s ota
"1. ..have found in the 'Austrian' approach to economicsa system
of thought that not only is the best economicdefense of a free
society bu t is also, and this is ...rare in theusually aptly named
'dismal science,' intelligible."For this reason, I was overjoyed to
find that there is aninstitute bearing the name of the greatest
economist of all
time, Ludwig von Mises."I am considering a career in economics
because I believe
that a thorough grounding in capitalism.. .is indispensablefor
anyone who wishes to defend freedom, which is mygoal. Please send
me information about where I can pursueAustrian economics... ,
scholarship opportunities , andpublications you offer."(May) your
institute...aid in obtaining for von Mises the
exalted position he deserved while alive bu t never
re-ceived."**
*The Mises Ins ti tute can recommend an instructor, provide
teachingmaterials, and advise on the structure of the program. We
havebeen able to helpa number of similar efforts, in informal
settingsas well as in educational institutions, and we are
interested indoing so in the future as well.
id(This is the kind of student t he Mises Inst itute seeks to
aid with thegenerous support of its Members.
F ro m t he PresidentMy Years With Ludwig von Misesby Margit von
Misesby Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.Ludwig von Mises was the greatest
economis
champion of liberty in our time. Those who know Mvon Mises
realize that he had a partner worthy of himhis achievements.Her
magnificent and moving memoir, My Years
Ludwig von Mises, was first published in 1976. Nowavailable in a
revised and enlarged edition.
My Years combines biography, autobiography,historical and
economic analysis with aspects of a thand the result is a superbly
rewarding book.After describing her youth and her successful
caree
stage actress and translator of plays, Mrs. Mises introus to her
future husband. They me t at a Viennese dparty in 1925, and
although she enjoyed his companwas shocked to discover the next day
that "he wassidered the greatest livingmind in Austria.... He
seemunpretentious and simple, so easy to talk to." (Itquality his
students saw as well -- one that helpedLudwig von Mises the great
teacher, as well as thescholar, that he was.)Their love story
sweeps through the economic tu
of the Great Depression -- which Mises had predictedstartling
accuracy -- and the political turmoil of Austthe Thirties after
Hitler's rise to power.
It is also, of course, a story of exciting ideas, and
onticularly valuable aspect of the new edition is its cov
(Continued on
Mrs. Ludwig von Mises speaks about her husband at the Indinner
in her honor.
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Ludwig von Mises . .. continuedfrom page 2of Mises' famous
Vienna seminar, where so many great~ c o n o m i s t s ....
including Nobel..prize winner F.A. Hayek ....were trained.The story
moves to Geneva, where Mises taught , and
then to New York in 1940, the city that was his home untilhis
death in 1973 at the age of 92, and that is still home tohis
widow.The book is full of invaluable insights into the
struggles
that Mises faced. He had taught at the University of Vien"na,
and published many seminal works includingSocialismand The Theory
of Money and Credit. But he soon foundthat academic positions in
the U.s. then were open only tosocialists and their allies.He began
a new career in a new country and a new
language at almost the age of 60, with very little money,yet
.... typically .... responded not with bitterness or resent..ment,
bu t with courage and hard work. The result was 33years of
magnificent creativity, and the firm establishmentof the "Austrian"
school of economics in the country hebelieved most receptive to
it.Eventually .... with the help of such good friends as Henry
Hazlitt and Lawrence Fertig .... he did get a chance to con"t
inue his seminar at New York University, al though henever received
a regular faculty position. Nor did he everearn much money. But, as
Mises had warned his fianceemany years before, "If you want a rich
man, don't marryme. I am not interested in earning money. I am
writingabout money, but will never have much of my own." Shedidn' t
need to answer, of course, as she tells us, because"He knew how I
felt. It was only him I wanted."Neither academic opposition nor
lack of money preven"
ted Mises from inspiring generations of students and
busi"nesspeople, who crowded his lectures, nor from producingmany
other immensely influential books, including hiscrowning work,
Human Action.
My Years tells the story of that book, how it was written,how it
was published, and how the infamous second edi"tion was botched by
Yale University Press, almost .... itseemed .... deliberately.Many
famous people appear in the book, in quick, tell..
ing descriptions or longer evaluations. We see .... along
with"'4 Hayek, Hazlitt, and Fertig .... Ayn Rand, Rebecca
West,William F. Buckley, Jr., Leonard Read, Israel Kirzner,
FritzMachlup, Murray Rothbard, and many others.
Congressman Bob Livingston discusses the gold standard withHon.
Ron Paul at aMises Institute conference in Washington, DWe also see
the poignancy of his last years, and .... in
essay worth the price of the book itself .... the importaand
influence of Ludwig von Mises.A personal note: I met Professor
Mises only once, w
Leonard Read invited me to dinner at his FoundationEconomic
Education. As I came into the dining roowas amazed to see an open
place across from Dr.Mrs. Mises. As I walked across the room, I
knew my gluck would mean one of the great experiences of my lifFor
more than an hour, I experienced firsthand the ge
strength and brilliance, the patience and love of scholarsthat
emanated from him .... and from his wife.Many years later, when I
approached Margit von Mfor her permission to start the Mises
Institute, I foun
those same qualities, and I realized again that one ofmost
fulfilling parts of working with the Institute woulthe chance to
know her better.In character, in intelligence, in courage, in
determinat
and in scholarly mind, she was the ideal partner for Ludvon
Mises. How wonderful that thatViennese dinner ptook place 60 years
ago, and that Margit von Miseswritten about it and all that
followed.For anyone interested in the history of our times;
ingreatest sch61ar and fighter for the free market; in hum
courage, endurance, and love; and in a great story,Years With
Ludwig von Mises is perfect: a worthy tribto the great man in its
title, and to the great womanwrote it.Note: My Years With
LudwigvonMises and the other booksmentioneavailable from the
Institute at discount. A catalog listing all our pubtions is free
on request.
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Entrepreneurs Council
Board of VisitorsMrs. Ludwig von Mises, Chairman Ellice
McDonaJohn V. Denson, Vice Chairman Ron PaulF. A. Hayek Murray N.
RotHenry Hazlitt Hans F. Sennh
Competition at Work ... continued from page 1Becker, who was
chief engineer on the Xerox 914, explainsthat "technically, it did
not look like a winner .... That whichwe did, a big company could
not have afforded to do. Wereally shot the dice, because it didn't
make any difference."Small businesses can outcompete, and
outinnovate, thegiants.Haloid Co., then Haloid Xerox Co., and
finally Xerox,
became one of the great business and stock..market
successstories of the 1960s. By the early 1970s, i t had
capturedalmost all of the new, huge photocopier markets, and
its1983 revenues totaled $8.5 billion. But by the mid 1970s,Xerox,
too, was getting big, bureaucratic, and sluggish, andJapan invaded
the photocopy market with the successfulSavin copier. As
competition by new originally small firmsaccelerated, Xerox's share
of the market fell to 75 percentin 1975, 47 percent in 1980, and
less than 40 percent in1982. As one investment analyst commented,
"They hadan aging product line. They were caught off guard."In the
world of business, no firm, even a giant, can
stand still for long. In trouble, Xerox fought back with itsnew
and improved 10 Series of "Marathon" copiers, andin 1983 the
company increased its share of the photocopymarket for the .first t
ime since 1970; and its record con..siderably improved in 1984.So,
Happy Birthday Xerox! The Xerox success story is a
monument to what a brilliant and determined lone inven..tor can
accomplish. It is a living testimony of how a smallfirm can
innovate and outcompete giant firms, and of howa small firm, become
a giant, can rethink and retool inorder to keep up with a host of
new competitors. But aboveall, the Xerox story is a tribute to what
free competitionand free enterprise can accomplish, in short, what
peoplecan do if they are allowed to think and work and investand
employ their energies in freedom. Human progressand human freedom
go hand in hand. Dr. Murray N. Rothbard is editor of the Mises
Institute's forthcomingJournal of Austrian Economics.
Mises Institute Expansion ... continued from page 1Located just
blocks from the U.S. Capitol, the new
offices at 322 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., will enable
theInstitute to be even more effective in its policy work.
Burton S. Blumert, ChairmanO. P. AlfordDeborah R. AyersArnold
BernhardJames U. Blanchard, IIIF. Joseph BradleyDouglas R.
CaseyRobert T. DofflemyerBert Dohmen..RamirezWilliam A.
DunnLawrence FertigKenneth J. GerbinoJohn M. Harbert, IIIRobert D.
KephartDavid H. KeystonH. F. Langenberg
StaffLlewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.PresidentPatricia O.
HeckmanDirector, Auburn OfficeMardelle OrrFinancial
AdministratorMurray N. RothbardJournal of AustrianEconomicsRoger
GarrisonAuburn Academic AffairsDon BellanteAustrian
EconomicsColloquium
Hugh E. LedbeLewis E. LehrmRobert D. LovJ. J. MahoneyJ. W.
MiddendA. Minis, Jr.David H. PaddTyson E. PoppCatherineD. RHoward
J. RufJohnL. RyanFrank P. SamfoRaleigh L. ShaMark SkousenRobbins
TayloThomas Taylo
S.D. Yana DavisPublic AffairsTamara MontgoAdministrationCindy
SagreraComputersDebbie McConnPublicationsDonald BoudreaSanford
IkedaMark ThorntonJohn McCallieSven ThommesAustrian
EconomNewsletter
