The entrepreneur must earn money from the masses every day.  He may not be successful every single day, but by and large, he must be to remain in business.  This is the law of the market.  The law—not legislation—is inescapable, don’t confuse the two.  The entrepreneur may not want to compete in the market as he ages.  It is very likely he will switch his investments around to adjust for a more comfortable life.

Those who favor security shun the market.  The market rests on human choices.  While some business endeavors may be more stable than others, it all rests on the voluntary choices of individual humans acting to satisfy their desires.  No amount of wealth is guaranteed.  There is no such thing as stability and security in the field of human action.  The only way to preserve one’s wealth is to satisfy the consumers.

The state can take and print money.  The entrepreneurs—they are political entrepreneurs—are in a safer position than on the market.  Of course, those that are politically connected.  However ruthless that state may be, it cannot violate the law in the long run.  Either ideas change or the capital is consumed.  One way or the other, maybe both, it must stop at some point.  Everything is based on current consumption, certainly not the case for an honest entrepreneur.

The state is in a unique position.  No doubt about that.  The political entrepreneur is receiving a surplus from the loot.  So, even if ideas haven’t changed yet, there will not always be a surplus.  There is interest on bonds, however low that may be.  As surpluses dwindle, the bonds will have to be serviced.  The state will continue to provide lousy services.  Where does that leave the political entrepreneur?  He will stop receiving “guaranteed” funds from the state.

The state will lose one of its propaganda ministers.  However, there is more than one political entrepreneur, so the state stands to lose an army of propagandists.  More debt is loaded onto previous debt.  Nothing is guaranteed in life, but that’s pretty close to it.  The debt burden cannot last forever, even if ideas haven’t changed yet.  Nothing can last forever.   The political entrepreneur will face a rude awakening.

Reference

Ludwig von Mises; Human Action