PART TWO. ACTION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF SOCIETY
Chapter VIII. Human Society
Chapter Summary
This chapter starts with a description of society and the benefits and reasons why people live in one. The subsection Human Cooperation is all about this.
“Society is concerted action, cooperation. Society is the outcome of conscious and purposeful behavior… Society is division of labor and combination of labor. In his capacity as an acting animal man becomes a social animal.” (p. 143)
“…the characteristic feature of human society is purposeful cooperation; society is an outcome of human action, i.e., of a conscious aiming at the attainment of ends… Human society is an intellectual and spiritual phenomenon.” (p. 145)
Summarizing, we live in a society because we are more productive and thus, benefit by living in one and this is because in a society we can have division of labor.
In A Critique of the Holistic and Metaphysical View of Society, Mises talks about the function of the government to check and control the antisocial behavior of some of the members of a society. Even though everyone benefits from living in a society, there might be some people that won’t respect the rules of living in it, so here’s where the government’s role takes place. Liberalism favors democracy as the best way to choose the government. Then, he explains the difference between Praxeology and Liberalism, and this mainly being the pure vs. concrete forms. In Liberalism, the attainment of “happiness” is put in concrete forms, proposing a route to achieve it. The other subsection is about Liberalism and Religion. Liberalism is against theocracy, but is in favor of everyone choosing to practice the religion they want as long as it’s not imposed on anyone.
The Division of Labor section explains why this phenomenon occurs and explains three reasons. “First, because of the innate inequality of the abilities of workers in various tasks. Second, the unequal distribution of resources on the surface of the earth. Third, the fact that some tasks are beyond the power of a single worker.”
Then, Mises explains The Ricardian Law of Association. What David Ricardo explained in this law is that even if a person is superior in producing both goods, he or she would benefit from cooperating with the person who is inferior in producing both goods. This is because each one would produce more of that good in which he or she is more productive, thus the overall production of both goods would be superior than if both persons produce both goods.
In The Effects of the Division of Labor, Mises explain how humans have been able to take a step further in the division of labor to make it more efficient and this has lead to the automatization or mechanization of tasks. This, also demands more qualified workers and elevates the standard of living.
The section The Individual Within Society explains that even though Praxeology takes the isolated individual as its subject, we cannot understand the individual being an asocial being. The society, in a metaphorical way, exists before the individual as we know it, thus it is of no use to think of an individual outside of it.
“The isolated asocial man is a fictitious construction.” (p. 165)
Mises in response to The Fable of the Mystic Communion:
“Social cooperation has nothing to do with personal love or with a general commandment to love one another. People do not cooperate under the division of labor because they love or should love one another. They cooperate because this best serves their own interests.” (p.169)
Then, Mises explains how we have become less hostile through time. In The Great Society, he explains that even though wars are antisocial (not to be confused with asocial), the division of labor has made us less violent, and this is because even in those cases we can benefit from this empirical phenomenon.
Finally, in The Instinct of Aggression and Destruction, Mises respond to those who think that our instincts of killing and destroying have been eliminated unnaturally by modern society. Here, Mises and Praxeology teaches us that even though people have these urges to be violent by instinct, they must choose between these urges and the urges of survival and flourishment (food, shelter, new, better, and more products). The consequence of this decision, is that if people want to satisfy the need to kill and destroy, they won’t be able to live in a society and won’t survive too much time living in an asocial way, thus they would choose to not satisfy this primitive need.
This chapter starts with a description of society and the benefits and reasons why people live in one. The subsection Human Cooperation is all about this.
“Society is concerted action, cooperation. Society is the outcome of conscious and purposeful behavior… Society is division of labor and combination of labor. In his capacity as an acting animal man becomes a social animal.” (p. 143)
“…the characteristic feature of human society is purposeful cooperation; society is an outcome of human action, i.e., of a conscious aiming at the attainment of ends… Human society is an intellectual and spiritual phenomenon.” (p. 145)
Summarizing, we live in a society because we are more productive and thus, benefit by living in one and this is because in a society we can have division of labor.
In A Critique of the Holistic and Metaphysical View of Society, Mises talks about the function of the government to check and control the antisocial behavior of some of the members of a society. Even though everyone benefits from living in a society, there might be some people that won’t respect the rules of living in it, so here’s where the government’s role takes place. Liberalism favors democracy as the best way to choose the government. Then, he explains the difference between Praxeology and Liberalism, and this mainly being the pure vs. concrete forms. In Liberalism, the attainment of “happiness” is put in concrete forms, proposing a route to achieve it. The other subsection is about Liberalism and Religion. Liberalism is against theocracy, but is in favor of everyone choosing to practice the religion they want as long as it’s not imposed on anyone.
The Division of Labor section explains why this phenomenon occurs and explains three reasons. “First, because of the innate inequality of the abilities of workers in various tasks. Second, the unequal distribution of resources on the surface of the earth. Third, the fact that some tasks are beyond the power of a single worker.”
Then, Mises explains The Ricardian Law of Association. What David Ricardo explained in this law is that even if a person is superior in producing both goods, he or she would benefit from cooperating with the person who is inferior in producing both goods. This is because each one would produce more of that good in which he or she is more productive, thus the overall production of both goods would be superior than if both persons produce both goods.
In The Effects of the Division of Labor, Mises explain how humans have been able to take a step further in the division of labor to make it more efficient and this has lead to the automatization or mechanization of tasks. This, also demands more qualified workers and elevates the standard of living.
The section The Individual Within Society explains that even though Praxeology takes the isolated individual as its subject, we cannot understand the individual being an asocial being. The society, in a metaphorical way, exists before the individual as we know it, thus it is of no use to think of an individual outside of it.
“The isolated asocial man is a fictitious construction.” (p. 165)
Mises in response to The Fable of the Mystic Communion:
“Social cooperation has nothing to do with personal love or with a general commandment to love one another. People do not cooperate under the division of labor because they love or should love one another. They cooperate because this best serves their own interests.” (p.169)
Then, Mises explains how we have become less hostile through time. In The Great Society, he explains that even though wars are antisocial (not to be confused with asocial), the division of labor has made us less violent, and this is because even in those cases we can benefit from this empirical phenomenon.
Finally, in The Instinct of Aggression and Destruction, Mises respond to those who think that our instincts of killing and destroying have been eliminated unnaturally by modern society. Here, Mises and Praxeology teaches us that even though people have these urges to be violent by instinct, they must choose between these urges and the urges of survival and flourishment (food, shelter, new, better, and more products). The consequence of this decision, is that if people want to satisfy the need to kill and destroy, they won’t be able to live in a society and won’t survive too much time living in an asocial way, thus they would choose to not satisfy this primitive need.
Chapter IX. THE ROLE OF IDEAS
Summary
1. Human Reason
*”Reason is what distinguishes man from other animals.” All humans are rational. This means that all of our actions go through the process of thinking. Reasoning may be faulty or fail to remove uneasiness, but that doesn’t eliminate the fact that thinking preceded those actions.
“Action is preceded by thinking. Thinking is to deliberate beforehand over future action and to reflect afterwards upon past action. Thinking and acting are inseparable. Every action is always based on a definite idea about causal relations.” (page 177)
2. Worldview and Ideology
“A world view is, as a theory, an interpretation of all things, and as a precept for action, an opinion concerning the best means for removing uneasiness as much as possible. A world view is thus, on the one hand, an explanation of all phenomena and, on the other hand, a technology, both these terms being taken in their broadest sense.” (page 178)
“In speaking of ideology we have in view only human action and social cooperation and disregard the problems of metaphysics, religious dogma, the natural sciences, and the technologies derived from them. Ideology is the totality of our doctrines concerning individual conduct and social relations.” (page 178)
3. Might
“Society is a product of human action. Human action is directed by ideologies. Thus society and any concrete order of social affairs are an outcome of ideologies.” (page 187)
“What is and must be thought out in advance is not the concerning of individual actions into an integrated system of social organization, but the actions of individuals with regard to their fellow men and of already formed groups of individuals with regard to other groups.” (page 188)
“Might is the faculty or power of directing actions…might is the power to direct other people’s actions.” (page 188)
“Rule is the exercise of might in the political body. Rule is always based upon might…A durable system of government must rest upon an ideology acknowledge by the majority.” (page 189)
4. Meliorism and the Idea of Progress
“The notions of progress and retrogression make sense only within a teleological system of thought. In such a framework it is sensible to call approach toward the goal aimed at progress and a movement in the opposite direction retrogression. Without reference to some agent’s action and to a definite goal both these notions are empty and void of any meaning.” (page 191)
“There is no room within a system of Praxeology for meliorism and optimistic fatalism. Man is free in the sense that he must daily choose anew between policies that lead to success and those that lead to disaster, social disintegration, and barbarism.” (page 193)
Why It Matters
In previous chapters, Mises made the case for reason, a single system of logic for the human mind, and so forth. In the present chapter, Mises argues that ideas control human destiny. Thus, not only is it sensible to discuss ideas and their relative merits; it is vital to do so because civilization depends on them.
1. Human Reason
*”Reason is what distinguishes man from other animals.” All humans are rational. This means that all of our actions go through the process of thinking. Reasoning may be faulty or fail to remove uneasiness, but that doesn’t eliminate the fact that thinking preceded those actions.
“Action is preceded by thinking. Thinking is to deliberate beforehand over future action and to reflect afterwards upon past action. Thinking and acting are inseparable. Every action is always based on a definite idea about causal relations.” (page 177)
2. Worldview and Ideology
“A world view is, as a theory, an interpretation of all things, and as a precept for action, an opinion concerning the best means for removing uneasiness as much as possible. A world view is thus, on the one hand, an explanation of all phenomena and, on the other hand, a technology, both these terms being taken in their broadest sense.” (page 178)
“In speaking of ideology we have in view only human action and social cooperation and disregard the problems of metaphysics, religious dogma, the natural sciences, and the technologies derived from them. Ideology is the totality of our doctrines concerning individual conduct and social relations.” (page 178)
3. Might
“Society is a product of human action. Human action is directed by ideologies. Thus society and any concrete order of social affairs are an outcome of ideologies.” (page 187)
“What is and must be thought out in advance is not the concerning of individual actions into an integrated system of social organization, but the actions of individuals with regard to their fellow men and of already formed groups of individuals with regard to other groups.” (page 188)
“Might is the faculty or power of directing actions…might is the power to direct other people’s actions.” (page 188)
“Rule is the exercise of might in the political body. Rule is always based upon might…A durable system of government must rest upon an ideology acknowledge by the majority.” (page 189)
4. Meliorism and the Idea of Progress
“The notions of progress and retrogression make sense only within a teleological system of thought. In such a framework it is sensible to call approach toward the goal aimed at progress and a movement in the opposite direction retrogression. Without reference to some agent’s action and to a definite goal both these notions are empty and void of any meaning.” (page 191)
“There is no room within a system of Praxeology for meliorism and optimistic fatalism. Man is free in the sense that he must daily choose anew between policies that lead to success and those that lead to disaster, social disintegration, and barbarism.” (page 193)
Why It Matters
In previous chapters, Mises made the case for reason, a single system of logic for the human mind, and so forth. In the present chapter, Mises argues that ideas control human destiny. Thus, not only is it sensible to discuss ideas and their relative merits; it is vital to do so because civilization depends on them.
Chapter X. EXCHANGE WITHIN SOCIETY
Chapter Summary
1. Autistic Exchange and Interpersonal Exchange
Sharp boundaries exist; there’s no gradual transition between these two. Either you have an autistic exchange or an interpersonal exchange.
1. Autistic Exchange and Interpersonal Exchange
Sharp boundaries exist; there’s no gradual transition between these two. Either you have an autistic exchange or an interpersonal exchange.
Autistic Exchange
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Interpersonal Exchange
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2. Contractual Bonds and Hegemonic Bonds
Contractual Bonds
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Hegemonic Bonds
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3. Calculative Action
· “There are no transitory stages between action and nonaction. There is only acting and nonacting.”
· Our scale of values is measured in ordinal numbers; however, cardinal numbers and arithmetical computation emerged in the historical evolution of the contractual society. This led to computation and calculation in the planning of future action based on past action.
· This need led to the creation of Praxeology and economics.
· “Economic calculation is the fundamental issue in the comprehension of all problems commonly called economic.”
· “There are no transitory stages between action and nonaction. There is only acting and nonacting.”
· Our scale of values is measured in ordinal numbers; however, cardinal numbers and arithmetical computation emerged in the historical evolution of the contractual society. This led to computation and calculation in the planning of future action based on past action.
· This need led to the creation of Praxeology and economics.
· “Economic calculation is the fundamental issue in the comprehension of all problems commonly called economic.”