The idea that political freedom can be preserved in the absence of economic freedom, and vice versa, is an illusion. Political freedom is the corollary of economic freedom.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
Nobody is in a position to decree what should make a fellow man happier.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Happiness is subjective and cannot be imposed by others.
This quote by Ludwig Von Mises highlights the idea that happiness is a personal experience and cannot be dictated or determined by someone else. Each individual's path to happiness is unique, and it is important to respect that diversity instead of trying to enforce a single standard of what should bring joy to others.
Themes
HappinessSubjectivePersonalFreedomIndividuality
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on personal development, one might quote this to encourage participants to find their own sources of happiness.
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All quotes →Wars of aggression are popular nowadays with those nations convinced that only victory and conquest could improve their material well-being.
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Only stilted pedants can conceive the idea that there are absolute norms to tell what is beautiful and what is not. They try to derive from the works of the past a code of rules with which, as they fancy, the writers and artists of the future should comply. But the genius does not cooperate with the pundit.
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The most serious dangers for American freedom and the American way of life do not come from without.
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The public firm can nowhere maintain itself in free competition with the private firm; it is possible today only where it has a monopoly that excludes competition. Even that alone is evidence of its lesser economic productivity.
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Each epoch has found in the Gospels what it sought to find there, and has overlooked what it wished to overlook.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
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The ultimate source of a happy life is warm-heartedness. This means extending to others the kind of concern we have for ourselves. On a simple level we find that if we have a compassionate heart we naturally have more friends. And scientists today are discovering that while anger and hatred eat into our immune system, warm-heartedness and compassion are good for our health.
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Let men be happy, informed, skillful, well behaved, and productive.
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From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax and be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on Earth.
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I have perceiv’d that to be with those I like is enough, To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough, To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough, To pass among them, or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly round his or her neck for a moment—what is this, then? I do not ask any more delight—I swim in it, as in a sea.
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Don't ever rob a bank. Enjoy life. Have fun. Choose to be happy now; don't wait until you're 'successful,' because honestly, I was as happy when we were unemployed and scrounging around for a buck.
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Of all the gifts bestowed by nature on human beings, hearty laughter must be close to the top.
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