Von Mises, at least, almost acknowledged that prices had some problem. Here is a paragraph from my Perverse Economy.
Von Mises and his followers were not merely targeting socialist planners, but also the early ecological economics tradition (O'Neill 2002, p. 157). Mises attacked Neurath by insisting that planning could not possibly be efficient. How could anybody compare alternatives without some unit of measurement, such as money? For Mises, in determining: ##whether we shall use a waterfall to produce electricity or extend coal-mining and better utilize the energy contained in coal .... the processes of production are so many and so long, the condition necessary to the success of the undertaking so multitudinous, that we can never be content with vague ideas. To decide whether an undertaking is sound we must calculate carefully. [von Mises 1951, p. 114] Von Mises admitted that in making the decision about the appropriate energy source, monetary measures leave out important considerations such as beauty or health, but he that: "We can value them directly; and therefore have no difficulty in taking them into account, even though they are outside the sphere of money computations" (von Mises 1951, p. 166). -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
