Wanting To Cheer For Government

What does the Red Stripe beer man and Ludwig von Mises have in common?



Freedom movements, their proponents, and many of their adherents are often labeled "anti-government," as if liberty-minded folks only want to boooo everything government does.  Sometimes all the rhetorical stops are pulled and the "anarchy" word appears, implying people interested in freedom want no government at all.

True, pro-freedom reformers are against the activities of government that exceed its properly-restrained and legitimate role in society.  But this is not an aversion against government as a whole; it could more properly be called "anti-illegitimate government" or "anti-big government."

A serious discussion is evaded if the context of the debate remains merely negative.  That is, we are not simply "anti" fill-in-the-blank; we are for the right kind of government.  By objecting to excessive and unconstitutional government we are of necessity arguing for returning government to its proper role.  We want a government that focuses on the activities that benefit freedom, property, and prosperity.

So, yes, Booooo to creepy excessive burdensome government.  But, Hooooray! to good government.

Mises analogizes the classical liberal view like this:

"If I am of the opinion that it is inexpedient to assign to the government the task of operating railroads, hotels, or mines, I am not an 'enemy of the state' any more than I can be called an enemy of sulphuric acid because I am of the opinion that, useful though it may be for many purposes, it is not suitable either for drinking or for washing one's hands."  From Liberalism: The Classical Tradition [Emphasis added.] 

We should look for every opportunity to stress the very important roles for government, roles indispensable to the preservation of freedom and prosperity.  Doing so highlights the ways in which government has far exceeded its proper place and threatens liberty, illustrates the reforms that are needed, and diffuses the silly notion that if one stands for liberty one necessarily opposes all government.

Protection of life, property, and property rights are actions only government can perform.  Free civilized society unquestionably require these protections.

What's more, a free competitive market cannot operate without certain functions of government.  No market can provide for itself the enforcement of liability laws and legal contracts.  Deterrence and punishment of force and fraud of are vital to allowing markets to remain free and competitive, and only government has the lawful coercive authority to exercise these protections.

And proper regulation of the market is a very good thing, so long as it does not exceed regulation and creep into the murky socialist realms of indirectly planning and directing economies, or protect failing companies from competition through bailouts, or establish monopolies through tariffs and by onerous regulations that stamp out pesky little competitors---all subjects of future Chalk Talks.

A desire and public demonstration for freedom, then, requires a healthy balance of opposing bad government and supporting good government.  We're boooooing but really want to hooooray!