Liberty and Property.pdf - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

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Liberty and Property 35gangsters whether of domestic or of foreignorigin. Government is not, as some peoplelike to say, a necessary evil; it is not an evil,but a means, the only means available tomake peaceful human coexistence possible.But it is the opposite of liberty. It is beating,imprisoning, hanging. Whatever a governmentdoes it is ultimately supported by theactions of armed constables. If the governmentoperates a school or a hospital, thefunds required are collected by taxes, i.e., bypayments exacted from the citizens.If we take into account the fact that, ashuman nature is, there can neither be civilizationnor peace without the functioning ofthe government apparatus of violent action,we may call government the most beneficialhuman institution. But the fact remainsthat government is repression not freedom.Freedom is to be found only in the sphere inwhich government does not interfere. Libertyis always freedom from the government.It is the restriction of the government’s interference.It prevails only in the fields in which
36Liberty and Propertythe citizens have the opportunity to choosethe way in which they want to proceed. Civilrights are the statutes that precisely circumscribethe sphere in which the men conductingthe affairs of state are permitted torestrict the individuals’ freedom to act.The ultimate end that men aim at byestablishing government is to make possiblethe operation of a definite system of socialcooperation under the principle of the divisionof labor. If the social system which peoplewant to have is socialism (communism,planning) there is no sphere of freedom left.All citizens are in every regard subject toorders of the government. The state is a totalstate; the regime is totalitarian. The governmentalone plans and forces everybodyto behave according with this unique plan.In the market economy the individuals arefree to choose the way in which they want tointegrate themselves into the frame of socialcooperation. As far as the sphere of marketexchange extends, there is spontaneousaction on the part of individuals. Under this
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