Darkness Is A Process & So Is Impoverishment

Monty Pelerin / Economic Noise

Darkness is a process. Light departs slowly. At first, the process is almost imperceptible. Then the darkness becomes noticeable and the process seems to accelerate.

Economies and countries move from light to darkness in similar fashion. It is a slow process until it becomes noticeable.

The descent into darkness results from government and its policies. The descent will continue so long as government continues to pursue wrongheaded policies.

The most wrongheaded policy of all is large government. Wealth cannot be created by government. Wealth is a function of real goods and services.

Large government means greater support from the productive sector. Every dollar taken from the productive sector is squandered in the sense it cannot be used to create wealth. Small inefficient governments are more beneficial than large inefficient ones, or for that matter large efficient ones. Milton Friedman once observed that we should be grateful for inefficient government because it did less harm than it would if it were efficient.

Government, beyond its minimal function of preserving property, destroys wealth. It doesn’t matter what its intentions or motives. “Noble” and “moral” government can only be small government. Government, once it exceeds its minimal size and efforts, becomes harmful. Large government is always pernicious.

This country is now living off the capital it inherited from its ancestors. Ludwig von Mises referred to living beyond one’s means in such a manner as as “eating the seed corn.”

Net wealth creation has not occurred for more than a decade and the process of wealth consumption is accelerating. As a result, our standard of living is declining.

Wealth can only be produced by the productive sector. Any economy which siphons off the seed corn from this sector will see their economy decline. James Kunstler described the effects:

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http://www.economicnoise.com/2014/04/21/darkness-process/