Mises Wire

Garrett on the Planned Economy

Garrett on the Planned Economy

In the newest issue of American Affairs to see the light of day after 60 years, Garet Garrett once again carries the day:

There are only two kinds of planned economy; and for all they may have, or seem to have, in common, there is yet a very simple way in which one kind may be distinguished from the other. You have only to ask: What is done with private enterprise? In one case private enterprise is liquidated, as in Russia, and the state itself, that is to say, the government, becomes the sole or principal enterpriser. In the other case private enterprise is controlled and directed, as in Italy under the Fascist regime; and if private enterprise is docile, obedient and cooperative it may in fact be very comfortable, at least for a while, as was undoubtedly true of the Fascist Confederation of Industrialists, which published yearly a book of praise, called the "Fascist Era," numbered according to the years of the regime, as if time began with Mussolini.
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