Monday, April 05, 2010

Bastiat's broken window fallacy writ large - How government wastes and destroys the scarce resources of the Earth

Do any of the cars above look drivable?

They certainly do to me.

However, I am just one of the hapless taxpayers who has been forced to fund their purchase so that they can be destroyed by the government, in the name of the Great Goddess Gaia.

Bastiat's broken window on a colossal scale - A small fraction of the 400,000+ vehicles the British government is about to destroy, in order to 'stimulate' the economy

Yes, that's right, folks. The British government has recently funded the purchase of almost half a million cars, most of them apparently serviceable for five years or more, to buy enough votes to help the Labour party win the forthcoming election.

It is now going to destroy all of these vehicles.

If there is a Great Goddess Gaia, I wonder how she feels about having her scarce resources treated in this way? I wonder how taxpayers feel about having their scarce resources treated in this way? Alas, most of us in this country have been brainwashed so much into the immoral ways of the state, that we're simply pleased if we have managed to take advantage of this scheme, to secure ourselves a nicer car than we could otherwise afford, or we're jealous that our own car wasn't old enough to take part in the scheme.

Democracy really is a war of everyone against everyone else, all of us trying to thieve as much as we can from other people before they rob us of as much as they can to get their own back, through the festering agency of government.

They divide, they take, they waste, they crush, and they destroy. This is how government works. This is how government has always worked. This is how government will always work.

Still, as long as some politicians get to feel the benefit of all those votes they've just bought with this money they took from us, then all will be well.

For those who want to see through the fallacy of Bastiat's broken window, the best route to a clear vision is through the work of Henry Hazlitt:

=> Economics in One Lesson: Online edition

Alternatively, just watch my playlist below to watch all 12 videos in the Mises Institute lecture series on Hazlitt's masterwork, based upon Bastiat's broken window fallacy:

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