No Special Privilege for Anyone; L. E. Read

· .. to associate peaceably with whom he pleases for any reason he pleases, even if someone else thinks it's a stupid reason,. · .. to worship God in his own way, even if it isn't "orthodox",. · .. to choose his own trade and to apply for any job he wants and to quit his job if he doesn't like it or if he gets a better offer,.

· .. to go into business for him self, be his own boss, and set his own hours of work - even if it's only three hours a week; · .. to use his honestly acquired property in his own way - spend it foolishly, invest it wisely, or even give it away. Beyond what is required as one's fair share to an agency of society limited to keep ing the peace, the fruits of one's labor are one's .own; · .. to offer his serv·ices or prod ucts for sale on his own terms, even if he loses money on the deal; to buy or not to buy any service or product offered for sale, even if refusal displeases the sel ler; · . . to agree or disagree with any other person, whether or not the majority is on the side of the other person; · .. to study and learn whatever strikes his fancy, as long as it seems to him worth the cost and effort of studying and learning it; . . . to do as he pleases in gen eral, as long as he doesn't infringe the equal right and opportunity of every other person to do as he pleases."

Unless a devotee of statism specifies which of the above lib erties he would deny the individ ual, he implicitly approves the free market, private property, lim ited government way of life. If, on the other hand, he insists that the individual should be de prived of one or more of the above liberties, then let him defend his position. Trying to present his case will more surely convince him of his error than any reform talk a Iibertarian can contri vee Let him talk himself out of his own illib erality! In short, instead of attempting to explain the thousands upon thousands of governmental activi ties you would eliminate, let the author of the tricky question ex plain just one peaceful activity he would deny to the individual. Isn't this putting the burden of proof where it belongs? ~ Reprints available, 2¢ each. 31 THE CONSEQUENCE of the Federal government's latest atte.mpt to carry out a program of consumer protection on a major scale was that housewives couldn't get meat or butter or sugar to satisfy their family needs, except as they might find a butcher or grocer or some one willing to practice bootleg ging. The time was a generation ago during World War II; and the Office of Price Administration was the intervening agency responsible f or those barriers between willing buyers and sellers.