• Socialism

  • An Economic and Sociological Analysis
  • By: Ludwig von Mises
  • Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
  • Length: 24 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (218 ratings)

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Socialism  By  cover art

Socialism

By: Ludwig von Mises
Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
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Publisher's summary

Published in 1922 during those dark and dreary years of socialism’s near-complete triumph, Socialism stunned the socialist world. Mises has given us a profoundly important treatise that assaults socialism in all its guises, a work that discusses every major aspect of socialism and leaves no stone unturned. A few of the numerous topics discussed include the success of socialist ideas; life under socialism: art and literature, science and journalism; economic calculation under socialism; the ideal of equality; and Marx’s theory of monopolies.

With this monumental work, Mises laid the foundations for free society. Socialism has influenced scores of influential thinkers, including Friedrich Hayek, Ayn Rand, and Milton Friedman. It is read over and over again today, all over the world, inspiring throngs of new defenders of freedom.

©1981 Margit von Mises (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“This book must rank as the most devastating analysis of socialism yet penned…An economic classic in our time.” (Henry Hazlitt)

What listeners say about Socialism

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wonderful

A long walk worth taking. Von Mises dismantled socialism beyond repair. I highly recommend this book to all.

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Difficult, but good!

This is a very difficult book to read. Not only are a lot of the references 50ish years old, but the structure of the book leaves a lot to be desired. Still, the content, once penetrated, is very good!

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Required reading:

This book goes into extensive detail outlining the history of socialism and the economic reality compared to economic theory.

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Glad I finally finished this book

Phenomenal analysis of socialism. It is long but well worth the read. I highly recommend it

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Golden content from Mises but hard to listen to

Mises hits it out of the park with this book. a must read for any libertarian minded person. BUT the recording is atrocious. it's muffled and hard to hear at times. There are really bad cuts where the voice changes, and even a few times where there should have been an edit but wasn't. Complete amateur recording and editing. Will someone please re-record this so we can listen to a great work?

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Written 100 years ago and more relevant today

If people had listened 100 years ago we could have saved the world so much misery.

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Required reading for every #AntiFa

If you believe in Class Warfare, you owe it to yourself to learn what a true progressive liberal country would look like. In my opinion, this book should be required reading to graduate from high school in America.

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Mises Crushes the Socialist Ideal

Loved it. It could have just as well been written yesterday. Mises crushes the Socialists with ease.

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One can't be a socialist after reading Socialism

If one is still a socialist after reading this there isn't any hope for you.

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Obligatory reading by anyone tempted by Socialism.

The analysis of Socialism by von Mises was developed and initially published between WWI and WWII, that is before the devastating failure of Socialism became apparent to the World with the fall of Soviet Union in 1991. However, von Mises analysis effectively predicts the ultimate failure of Socialism as evidenced by the gruesome experiment in Russia and the Soviet Union.

Today candidates for president in USA and the leader of the Labour Party in the UK advocate for a return to Socialism. This book should be obligatory reading by all tempted by these devastating ideas, and should be studied - objectively - at all universities in the West.

The devastating failure of Socialism should be widely understood so no one again can lead any society into similar disasters caused by Socialism past.

This is a terrific book containing thorough and profound analysis.

The book is highly recommended!

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