John Medaille wrote:  
>  
> Mises would say--as he did say--that "The hangman, not the state,   
> executes a criminal." So I suppose he would also have to say, "The   
> soldier, not the state, goes to war." This is, of course, true, but   
> only trivially true, since while the hangman does indeed perform the   
> execution, the action can only be interpreted in a social context; it   
> will be distinguished from murder only if the victim was delivered to   
> the hangman by the actions of other officers of the state acting   
> within whatever judicial context exists in that country. Likewise, in   
> the case of war, it is the soldier that fights the war but the state   
> that "makes" war. Actions are always performed by individuals, but the   
> individuals are always acting in a social context and their actions   
> cannot be understood apart from that context.   
  
  
John, it seems to me that you are Mises bashing for no obvious reason.   
Do you think Mises was ignorant of the notion that the hangman would be   
regarded as a murderer if the expectations about others actions (the   
"social context") were different? Do you have any evidence of his   
ignorance of such things?  
  
Pat Gunning