The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible - Bastiat Institute

Wealth is comprised
of choices. When
government takes
away choices, it takes
away wealth, even
from the poor.
Rockne Johnson
Chapter 19 • The Tortoise and the Hare Revisited
Brainstorming
• What are the differences between
government and private mail delivery?
• Who receives benefi ts from the granting of
monopoly privileges?
• Can control over mail delivery allow for
control over citizens?
• Ethical issues?
Commentary
A successful enterprise is achieved with
innovation, good products and services, and
competitive prices. This results in repeat
business and referrals by happy customers. It
enables the enterprise to advertise more and
cut prices further, which in turn brings in more
happy customers. So the momentum of success
continues.
All of it is hard work. None of it is undertaken
without competition.
For those fi rms that cannot compete, they
often spend time badgering the government to
control the “unfair” situation or “standardise
services for all”. With government intervention,
monopolies are created for ineffi cient
companies. When these monopolies close down
the competition, services and prices suffer. Take
a look at state monopolies and note the decrease
in the number of hours and days of service,
the decrease in customer care, the decrease in
general effi ciency, and the increase in “patriotic”
advertising. Even with the lack of competition,
state monopolies frequently lose interest in
profi ts because they know their losses will be
paid for with taxes that others are compelled
to pay.
One of the reasons the state creates
monopolies is to satisfy favoured interest groups.
By controlling monopolies, government offi cials
also control the citizenry. With the control of
107