Mises' Lessons for Activists

Ludwig von Mises is the white knight of the Austrian School. His life and work have shaped and guided classical liberalism, libertarianism, anarcho-capitalism, and volutaryism in profound ways. A careful reading of his magnum opus, Human Action, can radically alter and improve our approach to activism, fundraising, and recruiting. 

In the first chapter of Human Action, “Acting Man,” Mises identifies three necessary conditions for a man to act. First, he must feel discontent or uneasiness; there must be something he doesn’t like about his life.  Second, he must have an image of a more satisfying state of affairs. Third, and most vital, he must have some expectation that his actions “will remove or at least alleviate the felt uneasiness.”

Mises’s analysis can serve as a template for building events. Our job as activists is, essentially, to get people to act. Therefore our activities should be geared towards Mises’s prerequisites of action.  When you plan your activism, use the Misesian matrix.