Big Government

Mark Thornton speaks to the Auburn Rotary Club.

In a world of scarcity, there are no solutions, only tradeoffs.

Thirty million Americans are now unemployed, in part thanks to government "lockdowns." Meanwhile, unemployment in many cases doubles the unemployed person's risk of death through disease, suicide, or drug overdose.

Proponents of mandatory vaccines and enhanced surveillance are trying to blackmail the American people by arguing that the lockdown cannot end unless we create a healthcare surveillance state and make vaccination mandatory.

The lockdowns of the past month have not been conducive to the common good. While they have saved the lives of many people, they have also endangered—and are still endangering—the lives and livelihoods of many others. They have created a new and dangerous political precedent.

Proponents of mandatory vaccines and enhanced surveillance are trying to blackmail the American people by arguing that the lockdown cannot end unless we create a healthcare surveillance state and make vaccination mandatory.

Politicians and media have combined with an obedient and frightened electorate to abolish civil liberties and destroy the markets that are so key to fighting poverty.

We continue our survey of Human Action by finishing up Part Six of the book, Mises's analysis of interventionism.

The people who really run the country are unelected "experts" and bureaucrats at the central banks, at public health agencies, spy agencies, and an expanding network of boards and commissions.