The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible - Bastiat Institute

The theory of
Communism may be
summed up in one
sentence: Abolish all
private property.
Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels
It was only one life.
What is one life in the
affairs of a state?
Fascist Dictator
Benito Mussolini
The history of the
great events of this
world is scarcely
more than the history
of crimes.
Voltaire
What is the best
government? – That
which teaches us to
govern ourselves.
Goethe
Chapter 22 • The Bazaar of Governments
exercised massive state intervention in the
personal and economic lives of millions. It
declared war on free markets by dictating prices
and wages.
The communist doctrine teaches that
everything must be communal. “Share, share, and
share alike!” sounds good. You are encouraged
to work hard because whatever you produce
belongs to your neighbour and everyone else.
Except that in reality it doesn’t belong to you or
anyone in particular. It belongs to the state and to
state offi cials who have the power to decide how
much to keep for themselves, and how much you
and your work-shy neighbours “need”. Need, in
this case, means having just enough to be sure
everyone shares the same low basic standard of
living – except for state offi cials who will assert
that their “needs” are higher than everyone else’s.
Of course, you will be dealt with brutally if you
are unpatriotic enough to criticize the system
and do not sing the praises of the state.
The fascist government does not pretend to be
working for the good of the individual citizen. It
forces each citizen to work patriotically for those
in power. Thus, it collectively treats individuals
as a mass and controls the whole.
Interventionist governments imagine the
individual is incapable of working out his own future
and production. These governments intervene in
the economy by working in conjunction with their
favoured business “partners” to control supply and
demand in the economy. As with the ‘New Deal’ it
keeps prices high – even if this means they have to
destroy animals or crops.
Self responsibility. Thankfully, there is a
growing realisation that people prosper best
when they are left to take responsibility for
their own outcome without state and foreign
intervention. Not only will they prosper, but
there will be greater satisfaction, happiness and
international peace.
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