2021-02-09
Reading Ludwig von Mises’ lecture notes on Politics and
Ideas reminded me of the contradiction
that is present in classical liberal thought or within certain
libertarian circles: the idea that a government committed to
laissez-faire is either (i) not political, (ii) somehow less political
than its opposing forces, or (iii) political yet objectively correct.
The contradiction takes the form of a deeply ideological yet ostensibly
unbiased double standard where certain types of government regulation
are deemed appropriate and, thus, do not qualify as much-maligned
“interventionism”, while others are treated as necessarily evil,
inefficient, or corrupt and, hence, interventionist; a distinction that
collapses into itself in practice.
Mises notes:
Under
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