The Power of Marginal Analysis in Economics

Mises argues that philosophers had long attempted to analyze humanity's evolution and destiny based on an understanding of what history, God, or nature had intended for humans. In writing Principles of Economics in 1871, Karl Menger pioneered the marginal analysis of economic questions. This marginal revolution provided a starkly different alternative to the previous methods of analyzing humans. Mises defines human action as purposeful behavior so as to distinguish it from instinctive, impulsive, or emotional acts.