Ending the big lies of big government
by Chris Whitten

Big government requires big lies.

Perhaps the biggest lie is that government can give you something for nothing. This great fiction has taken root in people's minds and it is hard to kill. Incentives and institutions have grown up naturally to help keep the system alive. Politicians' and bureaucrats' jobs depend on it. They find allies in the people who think they benefit from government redistribution and regulation.

If the government pays a farmer not to grow food, he's not going to complain about it. He is probably going to support his local politicians to keep the subsidies coming. His neighbors don't have much incentive to keep track of the injustice that's going on. Why should they spend their time and money tracking down the truth and fighting for it if the subsidy only costs them a few extra dollars at the grocery store and on April 15? Since it all goes through the state, the farmer doesn't have to worry his conscience over ugly moral issues like stealing from neighbors. His neighbors stay busy thinking about where they can get their own fingers in the pie. They all keep thinking that they can get something for nothing through the magic of government.

Like the Wizard of Oz in L. Frank Baum's story, politicians keep their power because people ignore what goes on behind the curtain. Cato Institute scholar David Schoenbrod uses this metaphor in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial called "The Yellow Brick Beltway." He writes that, "Our modern wizards of both parties have tricks to avoid responsibility that Baum could not have dreamed of. They use unfunded mandates and unfunded entitlements to give to Peter without appearing to take from Paul. For the same reason, they delegate to agencies and the courts the power to regulate and to tax. Their secret is the same as the original wizard's -- they have nothing to give us that we do not already have in ourselves."

All the wizards need to do is play a few fancy tricks, evade the truth when necessary, and keep people thinking that the government can somehow magically keep us fed, clothed, housed, healthy, and happy. Everyone pays the price, everyone sees the problems, but no one seems clearly responsible. Government grows and the wizards keep perpetuating the lies.

Fortunately, we're entering an age when lies aren't so easy to hide.

Communications technology is expanding at an unprecedented pace, particularly through the Internet. It is becoming easy and inexpensive to talk with anyone, anywhere. More communication means more information and fewer secrets.

Trivial as the Monica Lewinsky debacle may seem, Clinton lied and this time he didn't get away with it. The traditional media probably would have let it slip by. Newsweek reporters uncovered it but they chose not to tell their readers. Internet journalist Matt Drudge did report it. He used the Internet to start an avalanche over the head of the President.

It's true that sex scandals like this one are what really grab people's attention. We're not talking about the "big lie" here. The really big secrets about the failure of government intervention won't matter to everyone and they won't be revealed so dramatically.

It may take a long time for little insights and revelations to add up to a general consensus on the failure of command and control systems. But we can enjoy the road ahead. Communication is fundamentally beneficial to freedom.

We have truth on our side. Individual liberty and free enterprise work to the benefit of everyone. This isn't just another political opinion. It is clear to any intelligent and honest person who looks at history and current events with an eye towards promoting the general welfare.

This is why the Internet is so exciting for the future of freedom. It might not be what usually makes the headlines of the mainstream media, but the Internet is making communication more intelligent and efficient every day. That's what it is all about. It is becoming easier and less expensive for people to find the right ideas and act upon them.

The Internet will help us end the big lies of big government.

Yours in liberty,

Chris Whitten
Executive Director

P.S. For some interesting examples of people using the Internet to fight government misinformation, see J.D. Tuccille's article in this newsletter on "Watching the Watchmen."