Democracy and Free Stuff

by | Jun 4, 2024

Democracy: the matching up of people who want free stuff with politicians who promise free stuff. Problem: free stuff as they all imagine it does not exist.

However, it does exist in the market, as explained by Frédéric Bastiat in Economic Harmonies, chapter 8, “Private Property and Common Wealth.” See my discussion of that chapter.

Sheldon Richman

Sheldon Richman

Sheldon Richman is the executive editor of The Libertarian Institute and a contributing editor at Antiwar.com. He is the former senior editor at the Cato Institute and Institute for Humane Studies; former editor of The Freeman, published by the Foundation for Economic Education; and former vice president at the Future of Freedom Foundation. His latest books are Coming to Palestine and What Social Animals Owe to Each Other.

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