Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

that is so characteristic a feature of modern war. For
it is only through voluntary sacrifice that one can
become a part of, belong to, the crusade. Thus it is
during war in particular that government has rarely to
compel sacrifIce. It has only to ask but to
receive.(26)
Hence it is only in wartime, as Bourne notes, that
the nation is able to "attain a uniformity of feeling,
a hierarchy of values, CUlminating at the undisputed
apex of the state idea." This "could not possibly be
produced through any other agency than war."(27)(28)
c. Economic Intervention.
There are two major economic factors the free
market anarchist can and does cite to help explain the
growth of government. First is the inequality of costs
and bene fit s of government programs, and second is the
dynamic of the market process.
The costs of government programs are usually widely
dIffused, while the benefits are highly concentrated.
Since the benef i ts a government can offer to a
particular interest group can be substantial, that
group wi II lobby vigorously for them. But so long as
the costs are distributed widely throughout society it
wi II genera 11 y come to no more than a few cents per
person per program. Since this would be less than the
cost of organizing an effort to oppose the program,
such is not done. It is therefore usually politically
profitable for the politicians to implement the programs
desired by the interest groups.(29)
Sec 0 n d I y, the a n arc his t em phas i zesth e del i cat e
interdependencies of the modern market economy. Since
any tampering with the market process has ramifications
throughout the entire economic system, the policymakers
wi 11 therefore be confronted with the choice of
either abandoning the original interventionist policy
altogether or expanding it into ever more areas. The
government, for example, may desire to "stimulate" the
economy by increasing the supply of money. This will
result in rising prices and the policy-makers may then
find it politically necessary or expedient to impose
maximum prices on some or all goods. But since this
w ill red u ceorev en eli minate profit rna r gins, I n ve s t ­
ment wi II be discouraged in those areas where the controls
were enacted, thereby causing a reduction of output
and hen c e ash 0 r t a ge 0 f t hose goods. This wi 1 1
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