The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 CAUSE AND EFFECT 547cause and effect operated, in theuniverse. The Bible explains causeand effect in this way: "Be notdeceived; God is not mocked: forwhatsoever a moan soweth, thatshall he also reap." (Galatians 6 :7)Freedom Not for SaleDo you really want freedom?Your sincere and eager reply maybe, "Yes, of course. Give it to me."But is that possible? Let us investigatethe means of getting anyand every fragment of self-improvementwe possess. Supposeyou want to learn how to speak aforeign language, or learn how tobuild a modern home, or learn howto repair a radio, or learn anyother skill. Can you go into a retailstore and buy these skills fora thousand dollars, or can yourparents or anyone else who lovesyou give these skills to you as agift, or can the senators and representativesin government enrichyour life with these skills by passinglaws, or could you side-step allthe hard work and steal theseskills on some dark night? Ofcourse, you cannot.Isn't it magnificent the way theCreator arranged the scheme ofthings so no one could cheat onhis or her self-improvement! Youget nothing for nothing; you onlyget exactly what you deserve as areward for your personal effort.This is proof that cause and effectoperate in the acquisition of allself-improvement. And since freedomis obtained by self-improvement,it becomes clear that freedomhas to be earned by each individualwho wants freedom. Letit be emphasized that freedom isan individual affair in self-improvementwhich can begin rightnow. Those who wait until the nextelection to increase freedom, waitin vain. It is a vain hope to believethat freedom can be establishedin a nation by benevolentstatesmen for the perpetual enjoymentof all. If that were possible,it would already have beendone a long time ago.Freedom has never been obtainedby the use of an excuse.Many individuals will admit theimportance of freedom but theyuse this excuse : "It is a full timejob for me to support my family.I haven't got the time or energy toworry about freedom." Fairenough. However, these individualsdo admit they have enoughtime to earn a living. If each familypracticed the virtue of selfimprovementby being self-supporting,it would free more slavesthan the Civil War between theStates. What is more, no warwould have to be fought. To findout who the slaves are, let us tracecause and effect. When a farmeror anyone else accepts governmentsubsidies, medi~al aid, wel-