“It is a mere futile process to exchange one set of commodities for another, if the parties; after this new distribution of goods has taken place, are not better off than they were before.” IfsProcessPartyTakenMereGoodsCommodityDistributionBetter Off Book:Principles of Political Economy: Considered with a View to Their Practical Application Source: Principles of Political Economy: Considered with a View to Their Practical Application
“Government can only do two things: It can beat people up and kill them. Or it can threaten to do so. When it seems to be doing something else - for example, handing out money or, say, surplus cheese - what's actually going on is that something has been taken away from one set of individuals by deadly force or the threat of deadly force, a hefty middleman's fee deducted, and whatever is left thrown to peasants delighted to receive stolen goods.” PeopleHas BeensTwoSeemsGovernmentIndividualLeftForceTakenExampleBeatsThreatTwo ThingsThrownGoodsCheeseStolenPeasantsDelightedFeesSurplusMiddlemenDeadly Force Author:L. Neil Smith