Libertas

“Freedom really means the freedom to make mistakes.” ~Ludwig von Mises

Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) The Last Knight of Liberalism "If one rejects laissez faire on account of mans fallibility and moral weakness, one must for the same reason also reject every kind of government action."

Ludwig von Mises began his second lecture in Buenos Aires on socialism, asking the question, “What does this system of economic freedom mean?” To him, it was obvious; it was the market economy. The market economy was a process in which individuals cooperated in the division of labor, contributing to society through buying and selling, and producing and consuming.

In understanding the market economy, you have to understand economic freedom. Many people mistakenly believe that economic freedom is separate from other types of freedoms. They think it’s possible to have the other freedoms without economic freedom. But economic freedom is fundamental because a person is able to choose his or her place in society, in a career, for example, to do whatever he or she wants to do.

Mises saw freedom as a complete whole, but too many people think of separating freedom into different parts, independent or unrelated to each other. Modern “liberals” call for policies completely different than the liberals of the nineteenth century. Modern “liberals” believe “that freedom of speech, of thought, of the press, of religion” (do “liberals” still believe in freedom of religion?), and freedom “from imprisonment without trial” can be protected without economic freedom. They do not understand that in a society where the government plans the economy, all other freedoms are mere permissions by the government. They are a mirage. The people think they see the freedoms, but they don’t exist. The government can end them whenever necessary, as we see today in the War on Drugs and Terror.

If the government owned all the presses, it will decide what to publish. How would any real anti-government idea get published? It is the same with the other freedoms, mirages, nothing more.

In a market economy, the individual is free to choose whatever career and place to work, not so, however in a planned economy. The government decides who does what and where. The State can easily those who are “dangerous” to work for the “greater good of all” far away from the centers of power. The collective is always more important and the leaders always know what’s best.

Mises reminds his audience that there is no such thing as perfect freedom. All have to deal with the various conditions and events in life. Each person is protected in a sense by society, through cooperation. Each individual needs the cooperation of others as well as the various relationships that makes life fulfilling. “Freedom in society means that a man depends on other people as other people depend on him.”

In a free market society everyone serves everyone else. Unfortunately, too many people believe that the economic masters are independent of “the good will and support of other people.” They believe the captains of industry, businessmen, and entrepreneurs are the real bosses. But Mises says, that is an illusion. The real bosses, he says, are the consumers. If they no longer want a product, the business leaders either lose their position or must change their actions to meet the needs and desires of their costumers.

Sidney and Beatrice Webb, authors of Soviet Communism: A New Civilization

Beatrice Webb, one of the founders of the Fabian Society and infamous defender of the Soviet Union, wrote in her memoirs about her father giving orders to his subordinates, but that no one gave orders to her father. Mises explains that that was a very short-sighted view, because her father had to respond to his costumers. She was only interested in what she saw, not what was unseen.

Frédéric Bastiat in his essay, That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen, reminds us that in all economic problems, we must remember to look not only to what is obvious, that which is seen, but the later consequences, that which is not seen. Politicians are especially guilty of seeing the obvious and then oblivious to the hidden consequences of their actions.

In a capitalistic system, in a free-market, in a free economy, the sovereign is the consumer, not the state, the people. The proof is, as Mises says, that the right to be a fool is the privilege of the sovereign. No one can stop the sovereign from making a mistake, and the sovereign must pay for it.

In a socialist system the government must protect the people, even from themselves. In the United States, the government tried the “nobel experiment,” called prohibition. It failed, but government didn’t stop trying. Now we have the War on Drugs, the FDA, anti-smoking laws, anti-transfat laws, anti-sodium laws, and the list goes on. The government regards us as too stupid to make good decisions and is taking away the freedom to make bad decisions. That’s what freedom is! “Freedom really means the freedom to make mistakes”!

If the government can decide what goes into our bodies, why can’t it decide what goes into our minds? It certainly is trying to do that in public education. When will it begin to forbid what we read, hear, and see? If the government is to protect our bodies, shouldn’t it protect our minds? Our souls?

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) "As for the degenerate artists, I forbid them to force their so-called experiences upon the public. If they do see fields blue, they are deranged, and should go to an asylum. If they only pretend to see them blue, they are criminals, and should go to prison. I will purge the nation of them."

For centuries people believed that governments must protect the people. Not long ago in Germany, it was the duty of the government to protect the people from bad art. Who decided? A failed art student who painted postcards. And so it was illegal for anyone to disagree with their Supreme Fürher.

If it’s the duty of government to protect the people from themselves in what they eat and drink, what can you say to someone who believes it’s the duty of the government to protect them from from what they read and think? “Freedom really means the freedom to make mistakes”!

We may believe that others are making dangerous mistakes regarding their health, lifestyle, or beliefs. Wc can write, talk, preach,and pray, but we may not police them against their will, even to protect them. That’s the difference between slavery and freedom. Slaves must do as they are told. Free people make their own decisions, their own mistakes, and pay the price, because they are sovereign.

Is capitalism perfect? Do mistakes happen in a capitalistic free-market system? Of course they do, but that’s why the capitalist system is inherently free. When mistakes happen, people must persuade others to change their behavior, but they cannot use force, even if it’s backed by the power of the state, even for their own good.

Recommend:

Economic Policy: Thoughts for today and tomorrow by Ludwig von Mises

Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt

That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen: The Unintended Consequences of Government Spending by Frédéric Bastiat

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