mirror of
https://github.com/nhammer514/textfiles-politics.git
synced 2025-08-06 04:54:12 -04:00
restores xml root element to pre-src
This commit is contained in:
parent
cb909e97f3
commit
22a4906740
483 changed files with 32919 additions and 33179 deletions
|
@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
|
|||
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
|
||||
<div class="article">
|
||||
<p>THE HERITAGE OF ECONOMIC LIBERTY</p>
|
||||
<p>By RICHARD M. EBELING</p>
|
||||
<p>For the Founding Fathers, economic liberty was inseparable
|
||||
<xml>
|
||||
<div class="article">
|
||||
<p>THE HERITAGE OF ECONOMIC LIBERTY</p>
|
||||
<p>By RICHARD M. EBELING</p>
|
||||
<p>For the Founding Fathers, economic liberty was inseparable
|
||||
from the case for political freedom. Many of the grievances
|
||||
enumerated in the Declaration of Independence concern British
|
||||
infringements on the free movement of goods and men between
|
||||
the thirteen colonies and the rest of the world.</p>
|
||||
<p>It was not a coincidence that the same year that saw the
|
||||
<p>It was not a coincidence that the same year that saw the
|
||||
Declaration of Independence also saw the publication of Adam
|
||||
Smith's Wealth of Nations. Both represented the ideas of the
|
||||
age. When Smith spoke of a "system of natural liberty" in
|
||||
|
@ -17,14 +18,14 @@ his own way and to bring both his industry and capital into
|
|||
competition with those of other men," he was expressing the
|
||||
economic vision of most of those who fought for freedom from
|
||||
British imperialism in the thirteen colonies.</p>
|
||||
<p>Following independence, the thirteen independent states were
|
||||
<p>Following independence, the thirteen independent states were
|
||||
loosely bound together by the Articles of Confederation. Many
|
||||
of the Founding Fathers, however, raised concerns about
|
||||
economic policies which the sovereign states were
|
||||
implementing. They had introduced various forms of economic
|
||||
nationalism into their relationships with not only European
|
||||
countries, but also among themselves.</p>
|
||||
<p>They imposed tariffs against the goods of other states. They
|
||||
<p>They imposed tariffs against the goods of other states. They
|
||||
gave monopoly trading privileges to their respective citizens
|
||||
in various lines of manufacturing and commerce. They passed
|
||||
legal tender laws excluding or hampering the free choice in
|
||||
|
@ -34,12 +35,12 @@ shackles of British mercantilism when they declared their
|
|||
independence in 1776, by the late 1780s the sovereign states
|
||||
were all practicing that against which they had fought in the
|
||||
war for independence.</p>
|
||||
<p>To overcome these economic barriers, the writers of the
|
||||
<p>To overcome these economic barriers, the writers of the
|
||||
Constitution (that replaced the Articles of Confederation in
|
||||
1787) included in Article 1, Section 8 that, "the Congress
|
||||
shall have the Power . . . To regulate Commerce with foreign
|
||||
Nations, and among the several States . . ."</p>
|
||||
<p>For many, the meaning of "to regulate" in the Constitution was
|
||||
<p>For many, the meaning of "to regulate" in the Constitution was
|
||||
meant to prohibit economic nationalism and make the several
|
||||
states a single, unified free trade area. Most of the Founding
|
||||
Fathers were very familiar with the free trade ideas of
|
||||
|
@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ were correct when they advocated the free movement of goods,
|
|||
men, and ideas from one part of the globe to another. Freedom
|
||||
and prosperity were to be linked together in one system of
|
||||
human liberty.</p>
|
||||
<p>The philosophy of wide economic freedom was believed in and
|
||||
<p>The philosophy of wide economic freedom was believed in and
|
||||
advocated during most of the 19th century. Said Daniel
|
||||
Webster, for example, in 1814: "It is the true policy of
|
||||
government to suffer the different pursuits of society to take
|
||||
|
@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ spirit of the Constitution. It has not, in my opinion,
|
|||
conferred on the government the power of changing the
|
||||
occupation of the people of different states and sections and
|
||||
of forcing them into other employments."</p>
|
||||
<p>The same view was still respectable and defended toward the
|
||||
<p>The same view was still respectable and defended toward the
|
||||
end of the nineteenth century. President Grover Cleveland, in
|
||||
his 1893 inaugural address, "condemned the injustice of
|
||||
maintaining protection . . . . It perverts the patriotic
|
||||
|
@ -69,7 +70,7 @@ government maintenance. It undermines the self-reliance of our
|
|||
people, and substitutes in its place dependence upon
|
||||
governmental favoritism." It created, President Cleveland
|
||||
said, the spirit of governmental "paternalism."</p>
|
||||
<p>While the United States government never completely removed
|
||||
<p>While the United States government never completely removed
|
||||
itself from the economic affairs of the people, broad economic
|
||||
freedom was more the rule than the exception in the last
|
||||
century. Why? To quote Daniel Webster once more, "The general
|
||||
|
@ -77,24 +78,24 @@ sense of this age sets with a strong current in favor of
|
|||
freedom of commercial intercourse and unrestrained action."
|
||||
Economic liberty, Webster argued, was "the general tide of
|
||||
opinion."</p>
|
||||
<p>In our time, the general tide of opinion in the United States
|
||||
<p>In our time, the general tide of opinion in the United States
|
||||
has not been kind to either freedom of commercial intercourse
|
||||
or unrestrained individual action. The reverse has been the
|
||||
case. Listen to two voices from the contemporary business
|
||||
community.</p>
|
||||
<p>Lee Iacocca believes that, "the 1980s were a time of quick
|
||||
<p>Lee Iacocca believes that, "the 1980s were a time of quick
|
||||
bucks, greed, and a lot of corruption . . . . [W]e've got to
|
||||
work and pull this country up by its bootstrap." And Mr.
|
||||
Iacocca sees an important role for government in guiding us
|
||||
away from our "lustful and greedy" ways.</p>
|
||||
<p>Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, argues that, "getting
|
||||
<p>Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, argues that, "getting
|
||||
rid of General Noriega is important, but I wish the computer
|
||||
industry would get a tenth of the space on our national agenda
|
||||
that he has. We have to make these issues national
|
||||
priorities." Technological achievements are still possible for
|
||||
America, he believes, through "government leadership." The
|
||||
problem is that "the private sector [is] dancing to its short-run tune," while government leadership can offer us the long-term vision for intelligent decision-making.</p>
|
||||
<p>Many economists no longer share Adam Smith's vision. Lester
|
||||
<p>Many economists no longer share Adam Smith's vision. Lester
|
||||
Thurow, dean of the Sloan School of Management at MIT, says
|
||||
that the Japanese "pick out an industry to conquer" and unless
|
||||
we (read: the government) do something to stop their invasion
|
||||
|
@ -107,14 +108,14 @@ In the next ten years, we will do the same . . . . We ought to
|
|||
move toward a uniform national system of child support with
|
||||
payments deducted automatically by the government from the
|
||||
employer."</p>
|
||||
<p>For one hundred years, Adam Smith's economic system of natural
|
||||
<p>For one hundred years, Adam Smith's economic system of natural
|
||||
liberty has been under attack. The idea that men, left to
|
||||
their own decisions, can make better choices for themselves
|
||||
than a paternalistic government, and that free men interacting
|
||||
with each other through voluntary exchange can produce more
|
||||
wealth and prosperity than any form of government planning or
|
||||
intervention, has been denied and often ridiculed.</p>
|
||||
<p>At the same time, the Marxist view of society has permeated
|
||||
<p>At the same time, the Marxist view of society has permeated
|
||||
the conscience of the world, including America. Great wealth
|
||||
and financial success bear the stigma of unscrupulous behavior
|
||||
and deceitful conduct. How could a person or company have
|
||||
|
@ -122,7 +123,7 @@ accumulated so much wealth and influence in a market unless
|
|||
they have been dishonest and exploitive? Besides, why does
|
||||
anyone need so much while so many in the society still have so
|
||||
little?</p>
|
||||
<p>The only solution to government regulation and redistribution
|
||||
<p>The only solution to government regulation and redistribution
|
||||
of wealth in 20th century America is an amendment to the
|
||||
Constitution that recognizes and guarantees a separation of
|
||||
the economy and the State. Only the establishment of economic
|
||||
|
@ -130,7 +131,7 @@ freedom on a par with freedom of speech, religion and the
|
|||
press can assure that there will be fewer ambiguities
|
||||
concerning the rights of the people and their economic
|
||||
affairs.</p>
|
||||
<p>But such a constitutional reform will not be possible until
|
||||
<p>But such a constitutional reform will not be possible until
|
||||
there occurs a change in "the general tide of opinion." Not
|
||||
until people fully realize that the cherished freedoms under
|
||||
the Constitution are truly protected only with inviolatable
|
||||
|
@ -145,14 +146,14 @@ via the use of an elected middle man--will we be able to
|
|||
remove the power of Congress to regulate and intrude into
|
||||
peaceful and mutually-beneficial economic activities of the
|
||||
American people.</p>
|
||||
<p>This Fourth of July, as we wave the flag and watch the rockets
|
||||
<p>This Fourth of July, as we wave the flag and watch the rockets
|
||||
red glare, let us also, as the Founding Fathers, "mutually
|
||||
pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred
|
||||
Honor" to awaken in ourselves, and all those with whom we
|
||||
interact, a renewed faith in free men and an understanding of
|
||||
the peace and prosperity that can only come from unhampered
|
||||
free markets and free trade.</p>
|
||||
<p>Professor Ebeling is the Ludwig von Mises Professor of
|
||||
<p>Professor Ebeling is the Ludwig von Mises Professor of
|
||||
Economics at Hillsdale College in Michigan and also serves as
|
||||
Vice-President of Academic Affairs of The Future of Freedom
|
||||
Foundation, P.O. Box 9752, Denver, CO 80209.
|
||||
|
@ -164,4 +165,5 @@ PO Box 9752, Denver, Colorado 80209, 303-777-3588.
|
|||
Permission granted to reprint; please give appropriate credit
|
||||
and send one copy of reprinted material to the Foundation.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
</xml>
|
||||
|
|
Loading…
Add table
Add a link
Reference in a new issue