On the Ultimate Justification of the Ethics of Private Property

Abstract

Ludwig von Mises, in his masterpiece Human Action presents and explains the entire body of economic theory as implied in, and deducible from, one’s conceptual understanding of the meaning of action (plus that of a few general, explicitly introduced assumptions about the empirical reality in which action is taking place). He calls this conceptual knowledge the “axiom of action,” and he demonstrates in which sense the meaning of action from which economic theory sets out, i.e., of values, ends, and means, of choice, preference, profit, loss, and cost, must be considered a priori knowledge: it is not derived from sense impressions but from reflection (one does not see actions, but rather interprets certain physical phenomena as actions!); and, most importantly, it can not possibly be invalidated by any experience whatsoever, because any attempt to do so would already presuppose the existence of action and an actor’s understanding of the categories of action (experiencing something is, after all, itself an intentional action!).