We have heard it said that cheaters never win. But, is belligerence cheating? It can be in games with rules. In the game of dominance and subservience there are no pre-established rules. There are rules and limits to what a person can do that have evolved over the years.
Many eons ago when government and religion were one in the same an ancient document called the 10 commandments became part of major religions. This was as much of a voluntary set of rules people had to live by voluntarily in order for civilization to flourish as it was a directive from God. This is not to say it was not a directive from God. Regardless of whether it was or not, mankind needed to voluntarily abstain from certain behaviors in order for the species to be civilized.
One of the things forbidden was making personal gains by belligerence. Besides providing for optimum output in an economy, the free market concept is the father of peace. In the stone age belligerence was by far the fastest and best way for one group of people the get the most out of a different group of people.
Even in the modern era, the land we all stand on was originally obtained through belligerence. We do have free exchange in the real estate market, but the land we split up and trade was gained by belligerence in the process of becoming part of the United States. National boundaries have historically been determined and defined by the use of force. All national territories have been gained by belligerence.
Free markets are the economies of peace. Various forms of socialism are based on economics of force or belligerence. When socialism is offered as a better system, whether it be top down socialism or classic socialism, well being is achieved by using government to impose one person’s will onto another.
When you hear of a plan to stimulate the economy or to redistribute income by government edict belligerence is being recommended as a better system than peace in determining economic outcomes. There are no exceptions.
The truth is a hard sell. Fantasy Free Economics gains readers one at a time. Major search engines simply do not list blogs which disagree with their political agenda. As long as folks share the link to this blog and others speaking out against the grain, the truth will at least trickle into the public consciousness.
Fantasy Free Economics recommends the following blogs.
Of Two Minds Liberty Blitzkrieg Mises Institute Straight Line Logic Paul Craig Roberts