Nation, State, and Economy

In Nation, State, and Economy, Mises takes up the question of the proper political order to sustain the peace in the age of democracy. This book examines and compares prewar and postwar political and economic conditions. He argues that each country's prosperity supports rather than undercuts the prosperity of other countries. This is also Mises's first attack on socialism, specifically war socialism. He shows that it will destroy a country and lead to complete chaos in economic organization. Also notable is Mises's pioneering theory of the relationship between language and nation. No matter what the state may attempt, our national identities preexist the political order.