[This is a chapter from The Problem of Production: A New Theory of the Firm.]

[Chapter 19 of The Conquest of Poverty (1996)]

The socialists and communists propose to cure poverty by seizing private property, particularly property in the means of production, and turning it over to be operated by the government.

“By July 2026, the libertarian president’s approval rating has plummeted to 35.5 percent, with disapproval surging to 63 percent...”

Henry Hazlitt, author, journalist, editor, reviewer, economist, has written or edited 18 books and countless articles, columns, editorials, and book reviews. He has gained renown in at least three areas: as a popularizer of sound economic thinking, as a critic of John Maynard Keynes, and as a contributor to moral philosophy. His Economics in One Lesson (1946), a long-time best seller, is one of the finest introductions there is to sound economics.

[Hazlitt, Henry, “The Torrent of Laws,” The Wisdom of Henry Hazlitt, ed. Hans Sennholz (Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Foundation for Economic Education, 1993), chap. 15. Originally appeared in the January 1979 issue of The Freeman.]

All over the United States, if you are reading this in a daylight hour, there is a ceaseless downpour of new laws. Every day some of us, somewhere, are being encumbered or shackled by still more restrictions. There are just too many laws.

But how do we tell how many laws are too many, and which ones are pernicious?

One of the US Senate’s most committed warmongers died over the weekend. 

Most experts believe that the key driver of economic growth is total demand for goods and services. Whenever an economy shows signs of weakness, experts hold that strengthening total demand is required to prevent a recession. 

Thus, according to this viewpoint, if the private sector fails to increase demand, then it is the role of the government to increase government demand in such a way that the total economy’s demand is going to strengthen.