--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History does not provide any example of…" description: "\"History does not provide any example of capital accumulation brought about by a government. As far as governments invested in the construction of roads..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/ludwig-von-mises-364_accumulation_history-does-not-provide-any-example-of_2988900.png" --- # History does not provide any example of capital… ![“History does not provide any example of capital accumulation brought about by a government. As far as governments invested in the construction of roads, railroads, and other useful public works, the capital needed was provided by the savings of individual citizens and borrowed by the government.” quote by Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/ludwig-von-mises-364_accumulation_history-does-not-provide-any-example-of_2988900.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/ludwig-von-mises-364_accumulation_history-does-not-provide-any-example-of_2988900.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/ludwig-von-mises-364_accumulation_history-does-not-provide-any-example-of_2988900.png) > “History does not provide any example of capital accumulation brought about by a government. As far as governments invested in the construction of roads, railroads, and other useful public works, the capital needed was provided by the savings of individual citizens and borrowed by the government.” [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Government infrastructure is funded by private savings, not by capital accumulation directly. **In simple terms:** Public works rely on citizen savings and borrowing. Key Takeaway Recognize private sector’s role in public investment. Themes economics government capital public works Mood analytical educational Type economic philosophical When to use this quote - budget planning - infrastructure development - economic theory Key Concepts entrepreneurship fiscal policy resource allocation Questions to Reflect On - How do governments finance large projects? - What are alternatives to private savings? A Different Perspective Assumes efficient private savings mobilization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Accumulation Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation-brought-4687039/) [Borrowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowed/) [Borrowed Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowed-government-4687038/) [Capital Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-accumulation-1544463/) [Capital Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-needed-1872339/) [Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens/) [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Governments Invested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governments-invested-3647912/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Railroads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/railroads/) [Saving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saving/) [Savings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savings/) ## Related quotes > [“The American and British governments invested heavily in the press, supporting official and unofficial organs, and high-ranking members routinely wrote articles and employed mercenary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-bickham/the-american-and-british-governments-invested-heavily-in-the-press/) [Troy Bickham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-bickham/) > [A nation cannot prosper if its members are not fully aware of the fact that what alone can improve their condition s is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/a-nation-cannot-prosper-if-its-members-are-not-fully-aware-of-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [The essence of Keynesianism is its complete failure to conceive the role that saving and capital accumulation play in the improvement of economic conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-essence-of-keynesianism-is-its-complete-failure-to-conceive-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [What makes small business develop into big business is not spending, but saving and capital accumulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/what-makes-small-business-develop-into-big-business-is-not-spending/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [The key solution is to invest in innovation and entrepreneurship within the company. 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It seeks to investigate reflexes and instincts, automatisms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/behaviorism-proposes-to-study-human-behavior-according-to-the-methods/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“In the early days of the country, before we had railroads, telegraphs and steamboats—in a word, rapid transit of any sort—the States were each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/in-the-early-days-of-the-country-before-we-had-railroads-telegraphs/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [a TEN-YEAR-OLD lad in Indianapolis who was arrested for picking up coal along the side of railroad tracks is now in jail. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/a-ten-year-old-lad-in-indianapolis-who-was-arrested-for-picking-up/) [Mother Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-jones/) ## More by Ludwig von Mises > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Changes in human conditions are brought about by the pioneering of the cleverest and most energetic men. They take the lead and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/changes-in-human-conditions-are-brought-about-by-the-pioneering-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [During the 2300 years since Plato, very little opposition has been registered to his ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/during-the-2300-years-since-plato-very-little-opposition-has-been/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“How little one is justified in speaking in this connection of "optimism" and "pessimism" and how much the characterization of liberalism as "optimistic" aims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/how-little-one-is-justified-in-speaking-in-this-connection-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Every step by which an individual substitutes concerted action for isolated action results in an immediate and recognizable improvement in his conditions. 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Since under Socialism economic calculation is impossible, under Socialism there can be no economic activity in our sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/without-calculation-economic-activity-is-impossible-since-under/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [There is no kind of freedom and liberty other than the kind which the market economy brings about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/there-is-no-kind-of-freedom-and-liberty-other-than-the-kind-which-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Peace and not war is the father of all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/peace-and-not-war-is-the-father-of-all-things/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [What counts alone is the innovator, the dissenter, the harbinger of things unheard of, the man who rejects the traditional standards and aims at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/what-counts-alone-is-the-innovator-the-dissenter-the-harbinger-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [All this talk: the state should do this or that, ultimately means: the police should force consumers to behave otherwise than they would behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/all-this-talk-the-state-should-do-this-or-that-ultimately-means-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [The most successful businessmen were often uneducated when measured by the scholastic standards of the teaching profession. But they were equal to their social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-most-successful-businessmen-were-often-uneducated-when-measured/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Facts per se can neither prove nor refute anything. Everything is decided by the interpretation and explanation of the facts, by the ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/facts-per-se-can-neither-prove-nor-refute-anything-everything-is/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) [Explore all 637 Ludwig von Mises quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) ## More Accumulation quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/) [Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-think-that-only-daring-speculation-can-lead-us-further-and-not/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Karma is often wrongly confused with the notion of a fixed destiny. It is more like an accumulation of tendencies that can lock us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/karma-is-often-wrongly-confused-with-the-notion-of-a-fixed-destiny-it/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [For me, personally, there is one really interesting thing. You're all a bit too young for that, but when you get to a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/for-me-personally-there-is-one-really-interesting-thing-you-re-all-a/) [Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/) > [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [The soul lives forever by giving, not receiving. This is the grand paradox. You get most by giving most. Conversely, by receiving much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-johnson/the-soul-lives-forever-by-giving-not-receiving-this-is-the-grand/) [Julian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-johnson/) > [Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/forgiveness-of-the-present-is-even-more-important-than-forgiveness-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have-surrendered-community/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) [Browse all 412 Accumulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History does not provide any example of capital accumulation brought about by a government. 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