About This Blog

Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was the greatest economist of my time. His greatest works can be accessed here at no charge.

Mises believed that property, freedom and peace are and should be the hallmarks of a satisfying and prosperous society. I agree. Mises proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the prospect for general and individual prosperity is maximized, indeed, is only possible, if the principle of private property reigns supreme. What's yours is yours. What's mine is mine. When the line between yours and mine is smudged, the door to conflict opens. Without freedom (individual liberty of action) the principle of private property is neutered and the free market, which is the child of property and freedom and the mother of prosperity and satisfaction, cannot exist. Peace is the goal of a prosperous and satisfying society of free individuals, not peace which is purchased by submission to the enemies of property and freedom, but peace which results from the unyielding defense of these principles against all who challenge them.

In this blog I measure American society against the metrics of property, freedom and peace.

Friday, May 26, 2017

"You believe in the absolute perfection of laissez faire capitalism just as some worship Jesus, or Marxists trust in the ascent of worker control."

Does an engineer "worship" mathematics and physics because he insists building bridges by any other means is counter-productive?

In capitalism, or more accurately in free markets wherein the means of production are private property, consumers are sovereign and the market serves them most efficiently. The micro-version of that is in a free and voluntary exchange of private property both parties ALWAYS benefit. In socialism, or more accurately in a system wherein the means of production and the distribution of production are controlled by government bureaucrats, consumers become clients of the bureaucrats, there are three parties involved in every transaction and the state decides who benefits and who loses.

There are plenty of countries today that are more free than socialistic. Just Google the most prosperous countries on earth and you'll have a list. If you Google the most poverty-stricken countries on earth, you'll have a list of countries wherein government control of the economy is tight-fisted.

The reason there aren't more highly prosperous countries is because their citizens insist that the government interfere in each private transaction so it can take from the able and give to the "needy," where "needy" is defined however these citizens and their strong-armed government allies choose to define it.

 Broder's rule: When a society says that theft and redistribution is legitimate government activity don't be surprised at who shows up to fight for a place at the government trough when the free-for-all breaks out.

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