presence
02-22-2013, 10:15 AM
Question of the Week: If Libertarian Principles Are so Superior, then Why Aren’t there any Libertarian Societies?
February 17, 2013 by Dan Mitchell
(http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/author/danieljmitchell/)
While I generally have a happy-go-lucky attitude toward life, I’m pessimistic about public policy.
So when I got an email asking me how I would reconcile the supposed superiority of libertarian principles with the absence of libertarian societies, I initially was tempted to assert that our principles are sound and then give reasons why I nonetheless expect freedom to continuously diminish.
The eroding-social-capital answer: Statism is inevitable because governments lure people into dependency (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/two-pictures-that-perfectly-capture-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-welfare-state/) with handouts.
The tyranny-of-the-majority answer: Statism is inevitable because people thinks it’s okay for 51 percent of the people to rape and pillage 49 percent of the people (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/majoritarianism-is-not-compatible-with-individual-rights/).
The public-choice answer: Statism is inevitable because interest groups will manipulate the political process to obtain unearned wealth (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/12/24/while-much-of-america-suffers-with-stagnation-washingtons-political-class-is-having-a-very-merry-christmas/).
The crony-capitalism answer: Statism is inevitable because big business can’t resist getting into bed with big government (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/a-nauseating-example-of-cronyism-sleaze-and-corruption-at-the-export-import-bank/) and corrupting the process of free enterprise.
There are probably other reasons, but I think you get the idea. No wonder I’ve been speculating about where people should move when America descends into Greek-style economic chaos (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/02/03/question-of-the-week-where-will-you-go-if-america-collapses/).
But I want to be uncharacteristically optimistic and explain why libertarian principles are still very relevant and that the outlook is better than we think.
First, we have some polling data showing that the American people are quite hostile (at least in theory) to big government (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/another-reason-to-be-proud-of-america/).
Second, global economic liberty has increased in recent decades according to Economic Freedom of the World (http://www.freetheworld.com/release.html), notwithstanding recent slippage in the United States and Western Europe.
Third, non-economic liberties are much stronger today than in past years, as explained by my colleague David Boaz (http://www.cato.org/policy-report/julyaugust-2007/are-we-freer).
Fourth, whether we’re looking at North Korea vs South Korea (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/the-brutal-impact-of-north-korean-statism/), Chile vs. Venezuela (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/in-one-chart-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-relationship-between-good-policy-and-economic-prosperity/), or the U.S. vs. Europe (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/international-data-on-living-standards-show-that-the-united-states-should-not-become-more-like-europe/), the world is a laboratory and the evidence gets stronger with each passing year that markets are better than statism.
So while I don’t expect that there will ever be a libertarian Nirvana, I also don’t think it’s time to throw in the towel and meekly accept the yoke of statism.
..
February 17, 2013 by Dan Mitchell
(http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/author/danieljmitchell/)
While I generally have a happy-go-lucky attitude toward life, I’m pessimistic about public policy.
So when I got an email asking me how I would reconcile the supposed superiority of libertarian principles with the absence of libertarian societies, I initially was tempted to assert that our principles are sound and then give reasons why I nonetheless expect freedom to continuously diminish.
The eroding-social-capital answer: Statism is inevitable because governments lure people into dependency (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/two-pictures-that-perfectly-capture-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-welfare-state/) with handouts.
The tyranny-of-the-majority answer: Statism is inevitable because people thinks it’s okay for 51 percent of the people to rape and pillage 49 percent of the people (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/majoritarianism-is-not-compatible-with-individual-rights/).
The public-choice answer: Statism is inevitable because interest groups will manipulate the political process to obtain unearned wealth (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/12/24/while-much-of-america-suffers-with-stagnation-washingtons-political-class-is-having-a-very-merry-christmas/).
The crony-capitalism answer: Statism is inevitable because big business can’t resist getting into bed with big government (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/a-nauseating-example-of-cronyism-sleaze-and-corruption-at-the-export-import-bank/) and corrupting the process of free enterprise.
There are probably other reasons, but I think you get the idea. No wonder I’ve been speculating about where people should move when America descends into Greek-style economic chaos (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/02/03/question-of-the-week-where-will-you-go-if-america-collapses/).
But I want to be uncharacteristically optimistic and explain why libertarian principles are still very relevant and that the outlook is better than we think.
First, we have some polling data showing that the American people are quite hostile (at least in theory) to big government (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/another-reason-to-be-proud-of-america/).
Second, global economic liberty has increased in recent decades according to Economic Freedom of the World (http://www.freetheworld.com/release.html), notwithstanding recent slippage in the United States and Western Europe.
Third, non-economic liberties are much stronger today than in past years, as explained by my colleague David Boaz (http://www.cato.org/policy-report/julyaugust-2007/are-we-freer).
Fourth, whether we’re looking at North Korea vs South Korea (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/the-brutal-impact-of-north-korean-statism/), Chile vs. Venezuela (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/in-one-chart-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-relationship-between-good-policy-and-economic-prosperity/), or the U.S. vs. Europe (http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/international-data-on-living-standards-show-that-the-united-states-should-not-become-more-like-europe/), the world is a laboratory and the evidence gets stronger with each passing year that markets are better than statism.
So while I don’t expect that there will ever be a libertarian Nirvana, I also don’t think it’s time to throw in the towel and meekly accept the yoke of statism.
..