Tankevækkende artikel af James E. Miller, Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada.
Nearing the End of Serfdom’s Road
In France, Minister for Energy and Environment Delphine Batho recently proposed a light curfew to pertain to “in and outside shops, offices, and public buildings” between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. beginning next July. Some merchants are up in arms as the rule adds to existing bans such as the forced closing of stores on Sunday and night shopping in general. If enacted, the illumination ban will quickly disperse Paris’s reputation as the “City of Light.”
France’s Commercial Council is criticizing the decision as being anti-business and economically damaging. However, the fact that these assumed defenders of free enterprise are surprised at such a proposal is the real puzzle. In a country run by a government that is happily bloodletting the productive capacity of the people through a hike on the income tax and a tax on financial transactions, this latest nanny-state resolve should be fully expected. It is not a power grab but a mere reassertion of the authority the central state has over the private affairs of society.
The “lights out” edict is just another piece of evidence of a disturbing truth: the road to serfdom is not ahead of the West; we have already reached its end.
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The West has reached the point of full state dominance. Whether this continues to be accepted or is blessedly defied remains to be seen. This writer finds little hope in the latter. Humanity appears to be adept at two things: protecting itself while simultaneously working toward its own demise. Its self-imposed destruction is almost fascinating to watch unfold. As the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius once observed, “in the ripe olives the very circumstances of their being near to rottenness adds a peculiar beauty to the fruit.”
Many people still believe they are free even though virtually every movement they make is affected in some fashion by the state. Sooner or later, it will be realized that in return for the feedings at the government trough, the West has thrown away what promise it had in constructing a free society. The freedom most think about in modern times is typically in reference to the right to voice an opinion or work for whomever they wish. This is false. Freedom today is represented only by the distance between skin and chain.
In the end, knowing full well the challenges which stand between man and liberty can be comforting. It means that the ills of society are easily diagnosed and it is accompanied by a feeling of predictability. The state will continue to swallow up large swaths of civilization until it can’t anymore. Then perhaps, God-willing, a free society will show its face.
The fact remains that liberty is far behind us. There is hardly a soul left on Earth that experienced life without the gargantuan state. The prospect of changing the impeding course is not impossible but increasingly slim. Fooling yourself into believing otherwise is an exercise in futility. A reminder of the central government’s endless reach will eventually cross your path.
As Garet Garrett wrote in his great polemic “The Revolution Was”
There are those who still think they are holding the pass against a revolution that may be coming up the road. But they are gazing in the wrong direction. The revolution is behind them. It went by in the Night of Depression, singing songs to freedom.
