Why Free Enterprise Depends on Private Property and Voluntary Exchange
Northwood University’s Dr. Alex Tokarev examines Ludwig von Mises’ case for freedom in a new essay published by the Mises Institute.
What allows people to live peacefully, make their own economic decisions and build a more prosperous society?
Northwood University Associate Professor of Economics and Philosophy Dr. Alex Tokarev explores that question in “Liberalism as Mises Saw It: A Recipe of Freedom for Today and Tomorrow,” published Sept. 29 by the Mises Institute.
Revisiting Mises’ 1927 book, Tokarev explains classical liberalism as a philosophy grounded in private ownership, equal rights, limited government and free trade.
His argument begins with property rights. When people can securely own their labor, land and businesses, they can decide what to produce and how to use what they earn — whether to save, invest, give or provide for their families.
Those individual choices also make cooperation possible. Tokarev explains how market prices help people coordinate their work across vast distances, allowing producers and customers to exchange value even when they have never met.
In his account, competition and cooperation work together: Businesses succeed by serving others. Tokarev describes a system in which “people compete for the right to cooperate.”
The essay offers a useful lens for understanding free enterprise, a central tenet of The Northwood Idea. Freedom to own, create and exchange gives individuals opportunities to improve their own lives while meeting the needs of others. For Northwood, America’s Free Enterprise University, that connection between freedom and service is central to preparing future business leaders.