What follows is a recent correspondence between Maurice and one of the early lights in our lives about the philosophy of human freedom, Bob Anderson.\u00a0 He is a towering mind from a towering organization, The Foundation for Economic Education, a man who was lecturing to us about the encroachment of tyrannical socialism 35 years ago.<\/p>\n
Maurice wrote:<\/p>\n
This is from a friend who once worked at \u201cThe Foundation for Economic Education\u201d at\u00a0 Irvington on the Hudson in New York.
\nHe was and is a brilliant speaker and writer and was on the team producing seminars during the 70’s and 80\u2019s. He was described by his boss, Leonard Read. As \u201cDoctor Doom\u201d. He is not very encouraging, needless to say.
\nMr. Anderson wrote:
\nMaurice:
\nOur political culture is beyond redemption, not just because the candidates are fascists, but because our citizenry has become dependent upon political plunder.
\nLegal plunder dominates our economic order today as people seek more for less through the path of favored political edicts.\u00a0 We have become a nation dominated by political beneficiaries being momentarily sustained by an ever-shrinking number of political victims.\u00a0 We\u2019ve arrived at Bastiat\u2019s observed fallacy that everyone can live off of everyone else through the political process.\u00a0 We\u2019re beginning to learn that just ain\u2019t so!
\nThe concept of absolute private property has vanished into a meaningless legal concept with no economic freedom of choice over its use.\u00a0 Economic ownership (control ownership) has been captured by the state.\u00a0 While some semblance of legal ownership still exists, the economic ownership of that property has been seized by the grip of government edicts.\u00a0 The notion of absolute control over how one\u2019s property may be used is totally lost.\u00a0 You know this as well as I do.\u00a0 We\u2019ve surpassed \u201ccritical mass\u201d on the road to serfdom which will only be reversed by the inexorable force of economic law.\u00a0 By that I mean the causes of our economic decline (an anti-capitalist mentality) have been firmly established with only the devastating effects from this irrational madness yet to be realized.
\nThere is no political solution to our present mess.\u00a0 After all, politics is the problem.\u00a0 It\u2019s delusional to believe that the problem of our social order\u2019s demise can resolve itself by changing the politicians, be it Herman Cain or Ron Paul.\u00a0 The origin of our fundamental problem is in man\u2019s nature of wanting more for less, and using mankind\u2019s oldest means to acquire more for less….theft.\u00a0 The only difference now is we steal by voting and political edicts rather than with a club.\u00a0 The internal flaw of political democracy has finally broken our social order beyond repair.\u00a0 The only hope for the future is to get today\u2019s mess over as quickly as possible.\u00a0 And the only way that can happen is for the citizens to feel the horrible pain of their self-inflicted madness and acquire the knowledge to find the proper way of improving their lives rather than through the false illusion of plunder.\u00a0 There is a better way and that is through a market structured, private property order built on the social division of labor.\u00a0 But, as you know, all three of these components are today undermined by a plundering government trying to sustain itself by promising everything to everybody.\u00a0 If you believe changing a few politicians can reverse this madness when the citizens are clamoring for more plunder, I\u2019ve got a bridge in Brooklyn waiting for you to buy!\u00a0 Our ethical problem is the folks surrounding us who have no concern over plundering their neighbors in order to get more for themselves through political largess.\u00a0 Obama knows this and responds to it.\u00a0 He will likely win in 2012 because, quite honestly, there are more plunderers around us today than freedom loving individuals seeking to keep the peace.\u00a0 So, what\u2019s my advice to Cain?\u00a0 Go home and sell pizza.\u00a0 Have I cheered you up?\u00a0 I\u2019m off in the morning to eat turkey with our daughters in Colorado while we still have enough liberty remaining to travel freely.<\/p>\n
P.S. I\u2019ll be 76 later this week and optimistic enough to believe I\u2019ll be able to escape the worst of what\u2019s coming.\u00a0 To paraphrase Mises the only sure way out when society is sweeping towards destruction is to die!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What follows is a recent correspondence between Maurice and one of the early lights in our lives about the philosophy of human freedom, Bob Anderson.\u00a0 He is a towering mind from a towering organization, The Foundation for Economic Education, a … Continue reading