Authoritarianism Is Not Compatible with Economic Progress: Freedom Is Indivisible
Is it possible, or even desirable, for economic freedom and progress to be compatible with authoritarianism? Although some may believe so, this is a fallacy. Freedom is indivisible. Political and economic freedom cannot be separated.
This is the position of Ludwig von Mises himself. In Planning for Freedom, he says, “Tyranny is the political corollary of socialism, as representative government is the political corollary of the market economy.” Regarding a citizen’s reaction to such tyranny, he writes in Planned Chaos that “If one master plan is to be substituted for the plans of each citizen, endless fighting must emerge. Those who disagree with the dictator’s plan have no other means to carry on than to defeat the despot by force of arms.” Mises contrasts the tyranny of socialism with capitalism in Bureaucracy when he writes,
Capitalism means free enterprise, sovereignty of the consumers in economic matters, and sovereignty of the voters in political matters. Socialism means full government control of every sphere of the individual’s life and the unrestricted supremacy of the government in its capacity as central board of production management. There is no compromise possible between these two systems.
Some may challenge Mises’s assertion. After all, referral to authority, even to one as great as Mises, does not prove that he is right. Some may say that economic progress surely depends upon the safety of one’s person and one’s property. “Is it not clear,” they say, “that authoritarian regimes provide better internal security, however harsh punishments may be, than their more permissive democratic neighbors?” Some authoritarian countries, such as China and some Arab countries, validate that prem
Article from Mises Wire
