Polyglotism and praxeology: Gage translates von Mises

Home News Polyglotism and praxeology: Gage translates von Mises

In many circles on campus, Ludwig von Mises remains one of the most well-respected economists and philosophers. His ideas have influenced many of the faculty and students, including Will Gage, a junior studying Spanish and German, who is now translating a previously untranslated excerpt of one of Mises’ books.
Gage learned that one of Mises’ early works, the “Nationalökonomie: Theorie des Handelns und Wirtschaftens,” originally published during Mises’ exile to Geneva in 1940, remains untranslated into English. He approached Visiting Assistant Professor of German Stephen Naumann and Associate Professor of Economics Charles Steele about working on translating the work.
Naumann and Steele coordinated to make this project a one-credit independent study. They gave Will the goal of translating a five-page excerpt of “Nationalökonomie.” In the process, he confronted some of the problems of translation and learned how to work around them.
“The biggest challenge for me is learning the fachsprache (technical language) of economics,” Gage said.
In their meetings, Naumann helps Gage with some of the translation techniques, and Steele helps Gage understand the ideas of economics Mises expresses in the book.
In order to teach Gage about the art of translation, Naumann introduced him to the works of Robert Musial and Franz Kafka, two other Austrian writers who were contemporaries of Mises.
Then, Gage took a look at several different translations of their works and compared and contrasted the choices the translators made. Gage thought about why translators choose certain words and phrases as English equivalents, and the problems which a too-literal translation can present.
“Presumably, unlike the translator, the audience does not have access to the original language, and so they rely on you, the translator, to understand the original work,” Naumann said. “So, in a way, there’s a responsibility a translator has to his audience. He is remaking, recrafting the work in a new language, but he is still constrained by the original author’s words. I have a lot of respect for a good translator.”
Gage said his advisers have consistently helped him through the project.
“My professors are willing to spend as much time as we need to make this project worthwhile for everyone,” he said. “Their knowledge of the subject is invaluable when it comes to translation of a work that is so interdisciplinary.”
The specific section of “Nationalökonomie” Gage is translating is titled “On the Limitations of Individual Ownership and the Problem of External Costs and External Economies.” Mises wrote about externalities in this five-page chapter, or the actions of one party indirectly affecting costs or benefits for another.
Examples of negative externalities include most forms of pollution, while examples of positive externalities include the benefits of a more well-educated society beyond just the students themselves.
Many of the ideas Mises expresses in “Nationalökonomie” were also later expressed and expanded upon in his 1949 English work, “Human Action: A Treatise on Economics,” which is widely considered Mises’ magnum opus. In both works, Mises makes the case for free markets based on his understanding of praxeology, or the rational exploration of human decision-making.
Gage said he found himself particularly interested in this section because no translation of it exists in English, and because this is a chance to learn more about Austrian economics, a field outside of his majors.
“I hope to be able to translate more of ‘Nationalökonomie’ or another work, to continue making academic material more accessible for those who don’t study German, but who still want to study great works in the German-Austrian tradition,” he said.
In addition to German, Gage speaks Spanish and Russian.
“My suggestion for people who want to get into languages: Find someone who speaks the language,” Gage said. “It sounds obvious, but I’ve tried learning languages on my own, and I ask so many questions that only a person fluent in that language could answer. It is much more convenient to find a native speaker or someone who speaks the language well to ask them.”
Gage also recommended that budding polyglots look into the Hillsdale International Club, which offers classes in several foreign languages, all taught by students like Gage.