The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 STATUS: END PRODUCT OF WELFARE 309of one's carelessness in the abortionclinic; and to have one's unwantedchildren made wards orone's half-wanted children caredfor at day centers. And for someof the more sophisticated, whoclaim it as a natural right to beamong the new elite, there is theright to spend four years or moreat a university campus to learnhow to malign, with unimaginativeand stereotyped obscenities, thesociety whose duty it presumablyis .to shower all of these blessingslike rain upon the deserving andundeserving alike.Who Are You?Bills of rights and charters ofhuman liberties may go some distancein restraining governmentsfrom zealously pursuing programsfor what is euphemistically calledgeneral welfare at the expense ofthe individual's personal libertyand well-being. But in the lastanalysis, the extent to which governmentswill succeed in stiflinghuman liberties will be determinedby the philosophy of la.w thatjudges, sitting in their courts, areprepared to apply to the laws thatthreaten the individual's liberties.The bulwarks of liberty can onlybe constructed piecemeal andslowly, as individuals appear beforethe courts seeking to assertrights against specific abusive actionsof the state.We have travelled a long distanceinto the kind of society inwhich status plays the major role.Federal and provincial laws dovetailto classify all persons in amanner that freezes the positionof each of us almost as effectivelyas did the feudal system nine hundredyears ago. It is true thatthere exists no legal prohibitionagainst moving from one stratumto another. But the incentives (orlack of them) encourage the individualto clasp, like some magicamulet, the rights (and disabilities)of the particular class inwhich he finds himself. A staticsociety is the inevitable result.That is the kind of society that affordsthe highest degree of "security"for the citizen and causesleast trouble to the state bureaucracy.Let us consider a few examples.Are you an aged person? If so,your status places you in a specialslot that entitles you to pensionchecks, and in certain places youbecome entitled to medical care,reduced public transportationfares, and other special allowances.Are you an unemployed person?This status entitles you to claimupon the state for certain weeklypayments so long as you are notoffered alternate employment thatsuits you. If you follow the practicethat the scheme in fact encourages,you will build up suffi-