The government is forever at
war with the economy. The government is forever destroying wealth and
causing poverty, pain, misery, and death. This includes the South Sea
Bubble (1720), Panic of 1797, Panic of 1837, Panic of 1857, Long
Depression (1873-96), Panic of 1907, Great Depression (1929-39),
Global Recession (1981-82), Great Recession (2007-09), and Wu Flu
Lockdown Depression (2020-21).
All were caused by government coercion and the welfare state. But
all were blamed upon economic freedom and capitalism. Mankind has
never learned the lesson of these bubbles, panics, recessions, and
depressions.
When
government attacks the economy it does damage to it. So too when it
attacks society and the individual. But such assaults and coercion –
such regulation, redistribution, tyranny, and “help” – is
universally seen as good for the economy. It’s seen as good
for society and the individual too. For 300 years now mankind has
been unable to figure out that freedom is good and slavery is bad.
The
Scientific Revolution of the 1600s led to the Industrial Revolution
of the 1700s and the widespread capitalism of the 1800s. Humans
became impossibly wealthy. Simultaneously, culture was radically
enriched, society turned remarkably harmonious, and individual happiness soared.
Such
was the product of moderate political, economic, social, and personal
liberty. Full liberty would have produced utopia.
But
philosophical geniuses -- and thus political leaders too -- didn’t
understand this. So government was forever on the attack.
Intellectuals and rulers viewed political, economic, social, and
personal freedom as mostly evil. Such welfare statists always wanted
to “improve” society and “fix” the problems caused by “too
much” freedom and “the excesses” of capitalism.
Hence, our welfare state -- and not a free state. It “reined in”
individual rights and human liberty in order to avoid Marxist
“exploitation” and “oppression”. Also the natural “chaos”
and “social destruction” of overall freedom. Additionally, the
welfare state controlled the “robber barons” and “private slavery”
endemic to unregulated capitalism. The evils of freedom never end!
For
three centuries now government has embraced various cockamamie
economic and social theories such as mercantilism, socialism,
Keynesianism, and monetarism. These justify its attacks upon men and business.
The coercive welfare state offers benevolent “guidance” which
lessens or prevents the “business cycle” and the “booms and
busts” inherent to economic freedom. The coercive welfare state
benevolently “redistributes” wealth to lessen or prevent poverty
and the unjust inequalities of wealth natural to economic freedom.
The coercive welfare state benevolently “regulates” the economy
to lessen or prevent the “natural monopolies” and “private
tyrannies” which are a permanent part of economic freedom. This is
what everyone thinks.
But
in real life, the coercive welfare state is forever "benevolently" creating real depressions, recessions, panics, exploitation,
oppression, tyranny, poverty, pain, misery, inequality, monopolies, etc. thru regulation and redistribution. These last two are
tyrannical and have no right to exist. The welfare state does
damage via myriad labor laws and Big Business permits, licenses, franchises, charters,
monopolies, subsidies, protectionism, tax loopholes, and more.
Government
creates plutocrats, oligarchs, and robber barons as it establishes
and enforces enslavement, tyranny, fascism, corporatism, crony
“capitalism”, and phony “capitalism”. Government inflicts
these horrors upon the world because real capitalism and
economic freedom are universally seen as evil, just as welfare
statism and political coercion are universally seen as cures
for this evil.
You
couldn’t create a more fatuous and depraved belief-system if you
tried. But this nonsense and nightmare has been believed by virtually
everyone for 300 years now.
And
humanity will never learn. When it comes to politics,
economics, sociology, and personal behavior, it isn’t in the power
of mankind to understand that freedom is good and slavery is bad.