What IS the Government?
My favorite economist asks the question (as adopted from the essay The Law):
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+ Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. – Frederic Bastiat Copyrighted under Creative Commons for Kevin Johnston…
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Since no individual acting separately can lawfully use force to destroy the rights of others, does it not logically follow that the same principle also applies to the common force that is nothing more than the organized combination of the individual forces?
– Frederic Bastiat
Missing the Point
As expressed in a post yesterday, the Occupy Wall Street people seem to be missing the point, as most are Obama-y, class-warfare types. Money isn’t the problem, at least not in itself. The state is. Let’s take a systematic look at on member’s proposed demands, which my dad sent me today… Demand one: Restoration of…
DetailsOUTLAW THE SUN
Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) is my favorite economist. Even though he lived over 150 years ago, his social, political, economic, and fiscal criticisms of newly-socialist France were spot on. Eerily, they are just as pertinent to today’s America, especially to dispelling the fallacies that the political, media, and academic classes consistently air. The following essay speaks…
DetailsDefine Your Terms
When philosophizing about the world, it is very important to define your terms. One term that is constantly misused is “capitalism.” Michael Moore, for example, in Capitalism: A Love Story, rants for an entire movie against the banking industry and profit motive in general, all under the broad term “capitalism.” The problem is that Moore…
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