22 Março 2009

O liberalismo é principalmente visto em termos económicos, mas não é só isso.

É também uma filosofia politica e de empenhamento do individuo, que é recompensado, pelo esforço que faz para si e para a comunidade.

O apelo à intervenção do Estado, em situações de crise, inibe a capacidade de regeneração económica, ao mesmo tempo que 'empurra' as pessoas para os partidos extremistas que fazem apelo à demagogia e populismo:

 

"The majority of the voters are just dull and mentally inert people who dislike thinking and are easily deceived by the enticing promises of irresponsible pied pipers. Subconscious inferiority complexes and envy push people toward the parties of the Left. They rejoice in the policies of confiscating the greater part of the income and wealth of successful businessmen without grasping the fact that these policies harm their own material interests. Disregarding all the objections raised by economists, they firmly believe that they can get many good things for nothing."

 

Este processo é liderado pelos intelectuais (Universidades, políticos, jornalistas, etc...) que se servem desses púlpitos para propagar uma ideologia, quantas vezes inibidora do desenvolvimento:

 

"The main error of this widespread pessimism is the belief that the destructionist ideas and policies of our age sprang from the proletarians and are a "revolt of the masses." In fact, the masses — precisely because they are not creative and do not develop philosophies of their own — follow the leaders. The ideologies which produced all the mischief and catastrophes of our century are not an achievement of the mob. They are the feat of pseudoscholars and pseudointellectuals. They were propagated from the chairs of universities and from the pulpit, they were disseminated by the press, by novels and plays and by the movies and the radio. The intellectuals converted the masses to socialism and interventionism. These ideologies owe the power they have today to the fact that all means of communication have been turned over to their supporters and almost all dissenters have been virtually silenced."

 

e que arrastam a sociedade para uma situação em que, para além de não criar a riqueza necessária, ainda se dissipa a acumulada anteriormente:

 

"Even in the United States, people — although enjoying the highest standard of living ever attained in history — are prepared to condemn capitalism as a vile economy of scarcity and to indulge in daydreams about an economy of abundance in which everybody will get everything "according to his needs." The case for freedom and material prosperity is hopeless. The future belongs to the demagogues who know nothing else than to dissipate the capital accumulated by previous generations."

 

Vejam lá se isto não é parecido com a situação actual, em Portugal, e na maioria dos Países ocidentais.

Ludwig von Mises descreve essa situação neste artigo (donde retirei algumas das passagens acima) que sendo escrito em 1951, parece premonitório da situação actual.

 


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