Ludwig von Mises was a notable economist and a major influence on the modern libertarian movement. He has been called the "uncontested dean of the Austrian School of economics".

He was born in Lemberg, the capital of Galicia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is now the city of Lviv, in Ukraine. Mises taught at the University of Vienna in the years 1913 to 1934, while also serving as a principal economic adviser to the Austrian government. He left Austria in 1934 due to the turmoil provoked by the Nazis rise to power; he first went to Geneva, and, in 1940, to the United States. There, he taught at New York University from 1945 to 1969.

Mises wrote and lectured extensively on behalf of classical liberalism and is seen as one of the leaders of the Austrian School of economics.

In Interventionism, An Economic Analysis (1940), Ludwig von Mises wrote, "The usual terminology of political language is stupid. What is 'left' and what is 'right'? Why should Hitler be 'right' and Stalin, his temporary friend, be 'left'? Who is 'reactionary' and who is 'progressive'? Reaction against an unwise policy is not to be condemned. And progress towards chaos is not to be commended. Nothing should find acceptance just because it is new, radical, and fashionable. 'Orthodoxy' is not an evil if the doctrine on which the 'orthodox' stand is sound. Who is anti-labor, those who want to lower labor to the Russian level, or those who want for labor the capitalistic standard of the United States? Who is 'nationalist,' those who want to bring their nation under the heel of the Nazis, or those who want to preserve its independence?"

Among Mises' published works are: Human Action, Socialism, Liberalism, The Theory of Money and Credit, Bureaucracy, and The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality.