Used to the conditions of a capitalistic environment, the average American takes it for granted that every year business makes something new and better accessible to him. Looking backward upon the years of his own life, he realizes that many implements that were totally unknown in the days of his youth and many others which at that time could be enjoyed only by a small minority are now standard equipment of almost every household.
Ludwig von MisesEconomic control is not merely control of a sector of human life that can be separated from the rest; it is the control of the means for all our ends.
Ludwig von MisesPeople 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.
Ludwig von MisesUnder capitalism the common man enjoys amenities which in ages gone by were unknown and therefore inaccessible even to the richest people. But, of course, these motorcars, television sets and refrigerators do not make a man happy. In the instant in which he acquires them, he may feel happier than he did before. But as soon as some of his wishes are satisfied, new wishes spring up. Such is human nature.
Ludwig von Mises