Originally published by Yale University Press in 1944, "Bureaucracy" is a classic fundamental examination of the nature of bureaucracies and free markets in juxtaposition to various political systems. "Bureaucracy" contrasts the two forms of economic management - that of a free market economy and that of a bureaucracy. In the market economy entrepreneurs are driven to serve consumers by their desire to earn profits and to avoid losses. In a bureaucracy, the managers must comply with orders issued by the legislative body under which they operate; they may not spend without authorisation and they may not deviate from the path prescribed by law. Writing in an age of exuberant socialism, Ludwig von Mises here lucidly demonstrates how the efficiencies of private ownership and control of public good production ultimately trump the guesswork of publicly administered 'planning' through codes and 'officialdom'. Although Mises aptly critiques bureaucracy and expounds thoroughly upon the immense power of law-like codes of commissions and administrations, he does not condemn nor dismiss bureaucracy but rather frames its proper bounds within constitutional democratic governments.

著名经济学家，他把奥地利学派带入20世纪，被称为“现代奥地利学派之父”。米塞斯曾任维也纳大学经济学教授，并担任维也纳商业委员会的首席经济学家。纳粹占领奥地利之后，米塞斯被迫离开祖国并于1940年移居纽约。米塞斯一生著述甚丰，包括25本专著和250多篇论文。他的作品在他生前就不断再版并被译为20多种文字。他的主要作品包括：《反资本主义的心态》，《官僚体制》，《自由与繁荣的国度》，《人的行动》和《社会主义》。