On Government Parasitism II

Government supporters will tell you that without the state making it possible for markets to function safely, we would all be worse off. One must wonder where the the state gets the resources it requires to effectively “regulate” markets. I don’t wonder, I know: the state expropriates resources away from successfully productive people and businesses. You see, markets don’t need the state to remain safe, but rather, markets are already as safe as cultures require. The state merely slithers its way into a regulatory position, aided and abetted by market participants hoping to stem the rising tide of competition, thereby protecting their current and future profit opportunities. The state is a parasite on productivity in markets. What makes it possible for markets to function are cultural mechanisms for secure property rights and the absence of state coercion. And that’s today’s two cents.

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Founder and editor of Everything-Voluntary.com and UnschoolingDads.com, Skyler is a husband and unschooling father of three beautiful children. His writings include the column series “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” and “One Improved Unit,” and blog series “Two Cents“. Skyler also wrote the books No Hitting! and Toward a Free Society, and edited the books Everything Voluntary and Unschooling Dads. You can hear Skyler chatting away on his podcasts, Everything Voluntary and Thinking & Doing.