Like the salmon traps that were once used to direct fish into captivity, various political schemes direct people toward dependence on the state. And just as salmon can’t turn back, most people are extremely averse to searching for a path toward self-reliance, having lost the capacity or willingness to take on responsibilities that their ancestors routinely undertook.
Robert Higgs is Retired Senior Fellow in Political Economy, Founding Editor and former Editor at Large of The Independent Review.
Energy and the EnvironmentEnvironmental Law and RegulationGovernment and PoliticsLaw and LibertyNatural ResourcesPolitical Theory
Other Independent Review articles by Robert Higgs
Fall 2019 Pressure-Release Valves in Participatory Fascism
Winter 2018/19 Two Worlds: Politics and Everything Else
Fall 2018 Against the Whole Concept and Construction of the Balance of International Payments
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