Liberty and Property.pdf - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

46Liberty and Propertyfew coins. Under capitalism his competencemakes saving possible, and there areinstitutions that enable him to invest hisfunds in business. A not inconsiderableamount of the capital employed in Americanindustries is the counterpart of the savingsof employees. In acquiring savingsdeposits, insurance policies, bonds and alsocommon stock, wage earners and salariedpeople are themselves earning interest anddividends and thereby, in the terminologyof Marxism, are exploiters. The commonman is directly interested in the floweringof business not only as a consumer and asan employee, but also as an investor. Thereprevails a tendency to efface to some extentthe once sharp difference between thosewho own factors of production and thosewho do not. But, of course, this trend canonly develop where the market economy isnot sabotaged by allegedly social policies.The welfare state with its methods of easymoney, credit expansion and undisguisedinflation continually takes bites out of allclaims payable in units of the nation’s legal