“Luddite reasoning rests on this assumption: individuals who act in their own self-interest to buy lower-cost goods are acting against the interests of the nation. This was the argument of the mercantilists in the late 17th century. It was this argument that Adam Smith criticized in The Wealth of Nations. This is the essence of all systems of government interference into the economy. It says that politicians know better what is good for the nation than individuals do. It says that customers, who act individually to pursue their own ends as inexpensively as they can, are totally misguided. As individuals, they are making decisions that undermine their own wealth.”
http://www.garynorth.com/public/10634.cfm
Related posts:
The Never-Ending Story of Government Cost Overruns
The Ecuadorian Library: or, The Blast Shack After Three Years
Broken Links: Fed Policy and the Growing Wall Street-Main Street Gap
The Security State: An Ever Bigger and Dumber Dinosaur
Singapore: A Case of Libertarian Orientalism?
Can You Pass The Terrorism Quiz? (Updated June 2013)
Liberty, NORML and Marijuana Legalization vs. Decriminalization
Elysium: The Technological Side of the American Police State
With Gold, Don’t Miss the Top
After the Storm (Part 2 of 2)
The Keynesian Architects of the U.S. Warfare State - Joseph T. Salerno
Have We Reached Peak Government?
The Decline of Political Protest
Richard Stallman: How Much Surveillance Can Democracy Withstand?
Wendy McElroy: America’s Electronic Police State
