Mises was one of the first to point out that socialism is not only a failed economic system, but also a manifestation of resentment. In Human Action, Mises argues that socialism is driven not by a genuine desire for justice, but by hatred of others’ success. In his analysis, he identifies what he calls the “resentment of the mediocre,” an attitude that seeks to destroy those who excel instead of lifting those who are below. Socialism, according to Mises, is a rebellion against the natural inequality of talent, effort, and merit; it is a doctrine that attempts to impose by force an equality that human reality denies.
Friedrich Hayek, in The Road to Serfdom, warned that socialism not only leads to political totalitarianism but also to the moral degeneration of the individual. For Hayek, collectivism eliminates personal responsibility and fosters servility, rewarding obedience and punishing autonomy. Central planning, by suppressing the spontaneity of social order, also suffocates the virtues that sustain civilization: effort, frugality, honesty. In this way, socialism not only impoverishes materially but also corrupts spiritually.
Murray Rothbard was even more forceful in denouncing the immoral nature of socialism. In his writings, especially in The Ethics of Liberty, Rothbard argues that socialism is the very negation of natural law. According to him, those who promote it do not seek justice but institutionalized plunder. Rothbard emphasizes that socialism is based on envy: the desire to appropriate the fruits of others’ labor, disguised as altruism and compassion. Instead of dignifying the poor, it turns them into an instrument to legitimize state violence against the productive.
Jesús Huerta de Soto, following the Misesian and Rothbardian tradition, has described socialism as a “spiritual disease of modernity.” In his lectures and writings, Huerta de Soto argues that socialism is born of hatred for individual freedom and a nihilistic attitude toward life. For him, behind the socialist ideal lies a destructive impulse, a will to power disguised as social justice. The socialist, in his analysis, does not want to help the poor: he wants to destroy the rich. Socialism is, therefore, an ideology of resentment, of rancor toward the natural order that emerges from the free exchange among free individuals.
🖋️: Escuela Austriaca de Economía
