The Individual in Society

A Page on Freedom Number 17 The Individualin Society SEEN from the point of view of the individual, society is the great means for the attainment of all his ends. The preservation of society is an essential condition of any plans an individual may want to realize by any action whatever. Even the refractory delinquent who fails to adjust his conduct to the requirements of life within the societal system of cooperation does not want to miss any of the advantages derived from the division of labor. He does not consciously aim at the destruction of society. He wants to lay his hands on a greater portion of the jointly produced wealth than the social order assigns to him. He would feel miserable if antisocial behavior were to become universal and its inevitable outcome, the return to primitive indigence, resulted. Liberty and freedom are the conditions of man within a contractual society. Social cooperation under a system of private ownership of the means of production means that within the range of the market the individual is not bound to obey and to serve an overlord. As far as he gives and serves other people, he does so of his own accord in order to be rewarded and served by the receivers. He exchanges goods and services, he does not do compulsory labor and does not pay tribute. He is certainly not independent. He depends on the other members of society. But this dependence is mutual. The buyer depends on the seller and the seller on the buyer. (t~ -Ludwig von Mises THE FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, INC.

IRVINGTON-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK 10533 131 Dean Russell Free Markets and «<='\..(5, i. .,5) p....,. , , <;;>'* <?8 " 8~ "\F' ) Human Freedom WHERE the market is freest, human liberty is highest. If labor is con trolled (e.g., slavery), there is nei ther a free market nor freedom. If capital is controlled (e.g., govern ment ownership), you can't produce without permission; that's not free dom. The free market economy and human freedom are mutually depen dent; destroy one, and the other au tomatically falls. Frederic Bastiat didn't write those precise words, but he clearly saw and described the relationship. And in the process of identifying the var ious institutions that have plun dered the French people over the centuries, he dwelled at length on the disastrous consequences stem ming from the actions of the only inDr. Russell, recently retired from a full schedule of academic work, continues freelance consulting, lec turing and writing from his home in Westchester County, New York.