People are not treated equally under statism.  Some benefit from special privilege, while others are left to bear the burden of legislation designed to shield the less industrious from the more productive.  Under capitalism, each individual stands on equal footing, with no artificial barriers preventing them from achieving success.  Statism grants privilege to a select few, leaving the masses worse off for the sake of protecting those who would otherwise fall behind.  Yet, many still consider it ignorant to support capitalism, unaware that it is they who are the unwitting pawns of statism.

The god-state claims to know your desires better than you do.  Its false prophets proclaim they know what’s good for you, what you really need.  Under statism, humans are reduced to soulless automatons, stripped of their ability to make their own choices.  The system of free labor is cast aside, and coercion takes its place.  In a truly free market, consumers and entrepreneurs decide what is to be produced, based on individual preferences and the natural fluctuations of supply and demand.  No one person or entity can claim omniscience, but the god-state dares to do so, forcing its will upon the populace.

The god-state’s power is rooted in its ability to coerce.  It dictates what you can and can’t do, under the guise of protecting you from your own irresponsibility.  Where does it stop?  Today, it’s alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine—tomorrow, it could be books, speech, or thought.  Once we admit that the state has the authority to protect people from themselves, there is no limit to its reach.  If the god-state can declare something bad, then it can declare anything to be bad.

Bad ideologies are far worse than any product the state seeks to regulate.  They’re intellectual poison.  Yet, under statism, there is no room for competing ideologies.  The god-state will inevitably move to outlaw those it doesn’t agree with, all in the name of “protection.” Advocates of statism unwittingly call for censorship, unable to see the slippery slope they are standing on.  Once one form of expression is silenced, more will follow, and there will be no stopping point.  The naïve supporters of statism are paving the way for the complete erosion of individual freedom.

It may surprise some to hear this, but we are not equal under statism.  Preferred businesses receive preferential treatment, shielding them from competition.  Regulations, often portrayed as safeguards for the consumer, are in fact designed to protect large, established businesses from the threat of more efficient upstarts.  The result?  The masses are forced to pay higher prices or accept lower quality products.  As the saying goes: regulations are made by big business, for big business.

Capitalism offers a different path—one where each person is free to rise or fall based on their merit, effort, and innovation.  It’s a system where the industrious are not shackled by the inefficiencies of the privileged few, and where the masses benefit from the fruits of open competition.  Statism locks society into a rigid hierarchy, enforced by coercion and protected by the god-state.  Only by rejecting the false prophets of statism can we hope to reclaim true freedom and equality.

Reference

Ludwig von Mises; Human Action