L'edizione italiana de L'Azione Umana di Ludwig von Mises : un caso editoriale

The article examines how the seminal work of the Austrian School literature’s Human Action - written by Ludwig von Mises in 1949 - was presented to the Italian public through the translation of Publishing House UTET, Turin 1959. This translation, conducted on the basis of the first American edition and therefore deprived of updates (especially of the core paragraph on corruption), is full of mistakes, misinterpretations, and inaccuracies, influenced by prejudices. Moreover, it lacks a critical apparatus, contains a slipshod foreword and is still the only existing in Italy. The Author shows how the evident dependence of this edition on a tradition too far from classical liberalism takes the responsibility for all misunderstandings and is unable to properly explain the significance of Mises in economic, social and political theory, preventing Italian public from understanding of his work which is particularly relevant in contemporary times.