Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

expands and more areas are subject to vote, the scope of
the market becomes progressively more restricted. Of
t his pro b 1em, Misesca n me reI y hope t hat the rna j 0 r i t Y
wi II exercise such self-restraint that government will
remain miniscle.(99)
The doctrinaire liberal also faces another dilemma.
On the one hand he is passionate in defending the right
oft he in d i v i dual tor un his life as he de ems fit.
Mises, as we have seen, terms the extension of government
beyond the protection of rights an "evil." But
since government is necessary, and since it must have
revenue, "taxes are necessary_"(lOO) If it is evil to
confiscate part of the earnings of individua1s for some
things, however, why is it not just as evil to confiscate
them for other things such as court and police services?
To this Mises can merely say that "the expenditure
caused by the apparatus of a liberal community is
so small" that it will be of little burden to the individual.(lOl)
But the dilemma remains: taxation, whether
large or small, constitutes a violation of the principles
of liberalism so cherished by men like Mises.
In short, while what government exists is to be
d em 0 c rat i c, the doc t r ina ire I i ber a Idesirest 0 res t rict
government activity as much as possible; he is a procapitalist
first and a democrat second. The positions
are reversed, however, for the moderate liberal, for he
is prepared to see, and in fact often advocates, the extension
of government into areas that the dogmatic liberal
would consider anathema. The prototype of this
group, which would include the bulk of the classical
liberals, is John Stuart Mill. "The purpose for which
power can rightfully be exercised over any member ofa
c i viii zed c omm un i t Y a ga ins t his wi I 1 ," says Mil I, "j s t 0
pre v en t h arm toother s • His own good. • • i s not a s u f ­
f i c i e n twa r ran t • "( 10 2 ) Wit h s uchastateme n t Mil I a ppears
to fall into the dogmatic liberal tradition. But
as George Sabine wrote of Mill, he was uncompromising in
the abstract, "but having stated the principle, he proceeded
to make concessions and restatements until in the
end the original theory was explained away without any
new principle being put in its place."(103)
T h u s the s tat e rna y ifit wi shes, he says, regu Iate
t r a d e 8 s weI I a s the h 0 u r s 0 f t a v ern s • I t rna y even
" con f "i net h e power 0 f sell i ng thesecomm 0 d i ties. • • t 0
persons of vouched-for respectability of conduct." The
state has the duty to enforce "universal education" and
to he I p to pay the school fees of the poorer classes of
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