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11 December 2010

How Did it Come to This

A cursory view of the 20th century shows the evil depredations of communism and socialism drawn down to their essence (e.g. Lenin, Stalin, Mao). The people either don't know what is in their own best interest or it is determined by the wise few that the masses can't provide it for themselves and that the state must provide it for them.

John Maynard Keynes wrote in the introduction to the German version of his General Theory that "[t]he theory of aggregated production, which is the point of the following book, nevertheless can be much easier adapted to the conditions of a totalitarian state [eines totalen Staates] than the theory of production and distribution of a given production put forth under conditions of free competition and a large degree of laissez-faire."

Thomas Friedman continues to extol the virtues of the "enlightened" autocrats that rule China, ostensibly wishing that America could follow the same route of totalitarianism.

None, absolutely none of the "right wing," so called, economists that I've studied over the years has embraced policies that have led to mass executions or even mass political detentions. They seem to realize that the state is good, very good, for very few things. The efforts and resources of the state should be directed fully towards those very few good things. And nothing further. Ever. Because when the state goes too far, liberty gets destroyed and there is no guarantee that it will come back.

Life and the market has away of self-correcting far more efficiently and effectively than any government regulation ever could.

Keynes himself wrote to Roosevelt that "[i]t is a mistake to think businessmen are more immoral than politicians."

The key difference is that businessmen can't make you buy, sell or do anything. Politicians can and do all of the time.

Yet it is the libertarian that is accused of not caring about his fellow man.

Funny, that.

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