The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 STATUS: END PRODUCT OF WELFARE 301pecially applicable to one class ofpersons as opposed to another, itgenerally follows that since the actof legislating is nQt a creative onein the sense that it is capable ofproducing something new - but isonly distributive in nature - whatthe legislature has done is simplyto take from Peter and give toPaul. It is then not long beforePeter will press for a compensatorylaw against Paul to redressthe imbalance and right the injusticehe considers has been donehim.Let us take a simple illustration.If the wages payable to one groupin the community are fixed by law- as, for example, those paid topolicemen or postmen or medicalmen - then injustice in the balanceof the community is bound to result.If the wages of the one groupare inordinately high as comparedto those of other working groups,all persons in the community exceptthe class enjoying the newhigher wage level are penalized. Ifthe wages fixed by law for. the specialgroup are inordinately low,then, of course, it is obvious thatthey are made the special marksfor discrimination and have beenunjustly treated. Or let us supposethat by law all wages are fixed accordingto a master wage plan. Itis possible, though most unlikely,that any legislative body will everpossess the sublime knowledge orwisdom to fairly legislate on sovast a subject. But even if such abody were able to equitably fixwage norms for all citizens, suchlegislation would be meaninglessunless it also fixed by law theprices of all goods andcommoditiesand services. Assuming the existenceof a sufficiently wise andall-knowing legislative or administrativebody to accomplish such anend, is it conceivable that equitycould be achieved for all personsin our own country, dependent asit is upon its trade with a hundredother sovereign states, each presumablypursuing a policy of economiclaw-making designed toachieve the optimum in the fairdistribution of goods among all ofits own citizens by law? Surely,what the closed feudal societyfound it possible to achieve, byrules designed to preserve thestatus of each class only at theprice of personal freedom, a worldof nations dependent upon internationaltrade and exchange israther less likely to create withinthe context of a society committedto maintain some semblance ofpersonal freedom.General Rules,Applicable to EveryoneThe second principle that oughtto govern substantive laws is that,in character, they should be generaland abstract and should deal