Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

living, doh'ations to charities, churches, etc., would
actually increase. Whether this would be the case, and
whether it would be enough to afford adequate care for
all of the disabled and handicapped, are serious questions
but ones that cannot be answered with a great
degree of certainty.
Whether one finds the "laissez faire" or the
"liberation" argument the more convincing depends on
one's answers to the previous two questions. This
creates four possiblities:
1. the market can't solve such problems but
the state can;
2. the market can so I ve such problems but
the state can't;
3. neither the market nor the state can
solve such problems; and
4. both the rna r ket and the state can solve
such problems.
Clearly, if one subscribes to possibility [1] he
will be likely, to find the "liberation" or "welfare"
argument convincing. Just as clearly, one adhering to
possibility [2] will be likely to find the "laissez
faire" argument convincing. The two interesting possibilities
are [3] and [4]. If neither or both the
mar keta n d the s tat e can solvethe s e prob I em s thenone
w0 u 1d h a vet 0 rna ke his dec i s ion 0 not her g r 0 un d s • For
example, if one believes that greed ought not to be
'encouraged and that this is what the market does, then
he might still advocate state regulation of market
activities. But'if one fears the concentration of
political power then he would be likely to endorse tl1e
laissez faire position.
e. The "equality· argument.
One final argument regarding the desirability of
g 0 v ernmentis the " e can om i c justice " posit ion 0 f J 0 hn
Rawls. Subscribing to a "patterned" theory of justice,
Rawls argues that the social distribution of wealth is
just only when the range of inequalities is held within
strict limits. Since economic freedom would permit individuals
to rise above and fall below the permissible
I imi ts, the pattern of economic distribution would be
immediately and continuously upset without intervention
by the state.
Moreover, if justice demands economic equality,
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