July

THEFREE IDEASON LIBERTY 244 The Government's War on Property by Jarret B. Wollstein A stunning report on how governments-federal, state, and local-are stealing our property. Commentary by K. L. Billingsley. 253 Highway Robbery by Bruce Benson Highwaymen used to be criminals; now they may be cops. 256 Morality in America by Norman S. Ream America became great because her people were good. 259 The Fear of Individualism by Tibor R. Machan One of the perennial sources of support for collectivism is the fear of independence. 261 Requiring Citizens to Do Evil by Michael Pierone Are governments always to be obeyed? 263 Outlawing Cooperation by Charles W. Baird Government cannot quite accept the notion of cooperation between labor and management. 272 Store Sets by David Montague Competition-even in unlikely places-benefits the consumer. 274 Part of the Economy by Bill Chaitow A healthy economy has many facets, some more humble than others.

276 Consumer Ethics by A. M. Rogers Everyone has heard of unethical business practices. How about unethical consumer practices? 279 Kosher Cops by Jacob Sullum Should governments enforce food laws? 282 The Role of Brands in Consumer Markets by William G. Stuart Gathering information costs time and money. Brand names save both. 285 Friedman and North on Vouchers An exchange between Milton Friedman and Gary North on Dr. North's February 1993 Freeman article, "Educational Vouchers: The Double Tax." 287 Book Reviews Perry Gresham reviews The Twilight of Sovereignty by Walter Wriston; The Coming Economic Earthquake by Larry Burkett, reviewed by Leonard Gaston. CONTENTS JULY 1993 VOL. 43 NO.7 THEFREEMAN IDEASON LIBERTY Published by The Foundation for Economic Education Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533 President: Hans F. Sennholz, Ph.D. Editor: John W. Robbins, Ph.D. Senior Editor: Beth A. Hoffman Associate Editors: John Chamberlain Bettina Bien Greaves Edmund A. Opitz Paul L. Poirot, Ph.D.

Contributing Editors: Doug Bandow Clarence B. Carson, Ph.D. Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Ph.D. Robert Higgs, Ph.D. John Hospers, Ph.D. Ronald Nash, Ph.D. William H. Peterson, Ph.D. Richard H. Timberlake, Ph.D. Lawrence H. White, Ph.D. The Freeman is the monthly publication of The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc., Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533. FEE, established in 1946 by Leonard E. Read, is a non-political, educational champion of pri vate property, the free market, and limited government. FEE is classified as a 26 USC 501(c)(3)tax-exempt organization. Copyright © 1993 by The Foundation for Economic Education. Permission is granted to reprint any article in this issue, provided appropriate credit is given and two copies of the reprinted material are sent to The Foun dation. The costs of Foundation projects and ser vices are met through donations, which are invited in any amount. Donors of $25.00 or more receive a subscription to The Free man. Additional copies of single issues of The Freeman are $2.00. For foreign deliv ery, a donation of $40.00 a year is suggested to cover mailing costs.

Bound volumes of The Freeman are avail able from The Foundation for calendar years 1972 to date. The Freeman is available on microfilm and CD-ROM from University Microfilms, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Ar bor, MI 48106. A computer diskette contain ing the articles from this month's issue is available from FEE for $10.00; specify ei ther 31/2" or 51/i' format. Phone (914) 591-7230 FAX (914) 591-8910 Cover illustration: Old North Church, Boston (Dover Books) PERSPECTIVE The Founding Fathers & "Equality" What is "equality"? What did the Found ing Fathers mean by the phrase "all men are created equal"? Any inquiry into the meaning of equality must include an examination of the Decla ration of Independence. The Declaration begins with an appeal to "the laws of Nature and of Nature's God," and maintains that the proposition "all men are created equal" is a self-evident truth. Furthermore, all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them "Life, Lib erty and the pursuit of Happiness. "

What the Founding Fathers meant by equality is this: All men share a common human nature. The assertion that all men are created equal means that all persons are the same in some respect; it does not mean that all men are identical, or equally talented, wise, prudent, intelligent, or virtuous; rather, it means that all persons possess the inherent capacity to reason. In his fine work Religion and Capitalism: Allies, Not Enemies, Edmund Opitz ex plains that "the writers of our Declaration believed it axiomatic that 'all men are cre ated equal.' They did not say' are equal' or 'born equal,' which would deny the obvious; they said 'created equal.' Equality before the law appeared to follow from this premise the idea of one law for all men because all men are one in their essential humanness. " -HAVEN BRADFORD Gow National Debt I place economy among the first and important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers. To preserve our inde pendence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our choice between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.

-THOMAS JEFFERSON 242 Good Intentions Good intention will always be pleaded for every assumption of power. . . . It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dan gers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. -DANIEL WEBSTER Private Property Property is surely a right of mankind as really as liberty . . . . The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. -JOHN ADAMS Self-Deification People frequently call socialism a reli gion. It is indeed the religion of self deification. The State and Government of which the planners speak, the People of the nationalists, the Society of the Marxians and the Humanity of Comte' s positivism are names for the gods of the new religions. But all these idols are merely aliases for the individual reformer's own will. In ascribing to his idol all those attributes which the theologians ascribe to God, the inflated Ego glorifies itself. It is infinitely good, omnip otent, omnipresent, omniscient, eternal. It is the only perfect being in this imperfect world.

-LUDWIG VON MISES Letter to the Editor In your November 1992 edition of The Freeman, John Hood represented that the PERSPECTIVE State of Wyoming has only five or six occupational licensing and regulatory boards, regulating only professions like doc tors, lawyers, and dentists. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Wyoming currently has 27 licensing and regulatory boards to protect the public from the evils of unregulated professional geolo gists and unlicensed hunting guides, for example. Several other threats to the public, such as dance hall operators, are licensed and governed by the board of county com missioners in each county. Sincerely, Clinton D. Beaver Attorney-at- Law Cheyenne, Wyoming Protecting Life, Liberty, and Property If the way we currently conduct the' 'war on drugs" means that agents will be gunning down innocent civilians in their own houses, perhaps it is time for a change in the laws regarding property confiscation.

The proper way to raise revenue is not through police-state tactics but only through the consent of the governed, by means of democratically passed laws. Government officials at all levels need to remember that under the American Constitution, the gov ernment exists to protect our God-given rights of life, liberty, and property, not to deprive innocent civilians of all three. -K. L. BILLINGSLEY Editor's note: For more on this subject, see Jarret Wollstein's "The Government's War on Property," pp. 244-252, and Bruce Ben son's "Highway Robbery," pp. 253-255. Additional commentary by K. L. Billingsley appears on pp. 247 and 249. 243 THEFREEMAN IDEASON LIBERTY THE GOVERNMENT'S WAR ON PROPERTY by Jarret B. WoIlstein , 'Apolice dog scratched at your luggage, so we're confiscating your life savings and you'll never get it back." In 1989, police stopped 49-year-old Ethel Hylton at Houston's Hobby Airport and told her she was under arrest because a drug dog had scratched at her luggage. Agents searched her bags and strip-searched her, but they found no drugs. They did find $39,110 in cash, money she had received from an insurance settlement and her life savings, accumulated by working as a hotel housekeeper and hospital janitor for more than 20 years. Ethel Hylton completely documented where she got the money and was never charged with a crime. The police kept her money anyway. Nearly four years later, she is still trying to get her money back.