{"id":326612,"date":"2024-04-08T14:31:33","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T19:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conk.com\/?p=326612"},"modified":"2024-04-10T10:22:48","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T15:22:48","slug":"the-sickness-of-government-updated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conk.com\/contributors\/sabrin\/the-sickness-of-government-updated\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u201csickness of government\u201d updated"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005)<\/a> was one of the most prolific authors of the 20th<\/sup> century<\/a>.\u00a0 He wrote three dozen books, countless articles and essays, was a much sought after management consultant, an influential professor, and a self-described \u201csocial ecologist.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0The \u201cfather of modern management theory and practice\u201d was thus one of the most consequential business thinkers in history.<\/p>\n

I first became interested in Drucker\u2019s writings when I read his Wall Street Journal essay about the nonprofit sector and the welfare state in December 1991.<\/a>\u00a0 His essay contains nuggets of insights about the failure of the welfare state and the bureaucracies that perpetuate it.\u00a0 Drucker provided examples of how nonprofits outshine government programs in providing social services to the public.\u00a0 He asserted that the nonprofit sector would eventually replace the welfare bureaucracies just as \u201cprivatization\u201d had begun to replace the ossified socialist economies that perpetuated widespread poverty and low living standards.<\/p>\n

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In reviewing Drucker\u2019s body of work for my presentation at the Mises Institute last month<\/a>, I came across an essay that was published in 1969, \u201cThe sickness of government.\u201d <\/a>\u00a0\u00a0The essay is more applicable today than when it was published 55 years ago.<\/p>\n

For example, Drucker wrote, \u201cThere is mounting evidence that government is big rather than strong; that it is fat and flabby, rather than powerful; that costs a great deal, but does not achieve much. There is mounting evidence also that the citizens, less and less believe in the government and is increasingly disenchanted with it. Indeed, government is sick \u2013 and just at a time when we need a strong, healthy, and vigorous government<\/em>.\u201d (Emphasis added).<\/p>\n

He also noted, \u201cGovernment has proven itself capable of doing only two things with great effectiveness. It can wage war. And it can inflate the currency. \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Other things it can promise, but only rarely accomplish.\u201d\u00a0 (emphasis added)<\/p>\n

The above quotes reflect what I call the Drucker Paradox.\u00a0 He realized government programs are ineffective and costly but calls for a \u201cstrong, vigorous government.\u00a0 In short, he believes a \u201csocietal consensus\u201d must be created to forge a harmonious country.\u00a0 He also correctly observed government is a destroyer: of the people\u2019s money by inflating the currency and their lives and property by conducting legalized murder (war).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The solution to \u201csick\u201d government is not Drucker\u2019s naive view that government should be a \u201cconductor\u201d directing society toward shared values.\u00a0 He calls for a \u201cnew political theory and probably very new constitutional law.\u201d\u00a0 If Drucker had consulted the Constitution, he would have realized the federal government is bound by Article I, Sec. 8.\u00a0 The Constitution authorizes a few clearly defined activities that would achieve Drucker\u2019s goal of \u201ceffective government.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regrettably, Drucker asserts, \u201cWe do not face the \u2018return of laissez faire\u2019 in which the economy is left alone. The economic sphere cannot and will not be considered to lie outside the public domain.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Years later, in a Forbes magazine interview, Drucker stated, \u201cThe wisdom of government only exists in textbooks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Drucker had read any of Ludwig von Mises\u2019 books and essays how a laissez faire economy would be the best way for a society to organize he would have realized that the sickness of government is a universal phenomenon.\u00a0 Mises\u2019s essay, \u201cThe Middle of the Road Leads to Socialism,<\/a>\u201d is one of many critiques that he penned during his 60 year career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite Drucker\u2019s shortcomings he recognized the failure of the welfare state and the strength of nonprofits.\u00a0 His message of nonprofitization should be spread far and wide so we can begin the restoration of a limited government republic.<\/p>\n

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Every Wednesday at\u00a011:05am talk show host Gary Nolan and I discuss<\/a>\u00a0the economy and politics.\u00a0\u00a0The Fort Myers Mises Circle presentations are available online<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Latest podcast on healthcare<\/a>\u00a0with host Johnathan Westover;\u00a0Incentivizing wellness podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Bernadette Pajer;\u00a0the Human Action podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Bob Murphy on my American journey;\u00a0Joseph Cotto and I<\/a>\u00a0discuss Argentina and the US, and the Human podcast with Bob Murphy on<\/a> healthcare; Robert Scott Bell and I discuss healthcare<\/a> on the second hour of his podcast,<\/p>\n

Murray Sabrin, PhD, is emeritus professor of finance, Ramapo College of New Jersey. Dr. Sabrin is considered a \u201cpublic intellectual\u201d for writing about the economy in scholarly and popular publications. His new book,\u00a0The Finance of Health Care: Wellness and Innovative Approaches to Employee Medical Insurance<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Business Expert Press, Oct. 24, 2022), and his other BEP publication,\u00a0Navigating the Boom\/Bust Cycle: An Entrepreneur\u2019s Survival Guide (October 2021),<\/a>\u00a0provides decision makers with tools needed to help manage their businesses during the <\/em>inexecrable business cycle.\u00a0 Sabrin’s autobiography,\u00a0From Immigrant to Public Intellectual: An American Story,<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was published in November, 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Murray\u2019s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Welfare-Warfare State is entrenched\u2026for the time being More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":245423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[310],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326612"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}