Do Businessmen Want Freedom?

A common thing you'll hear from many free-marketeers is that businessmen want the government to stay out of business. This might be true for some, the rare selection of entrepreneurs and businesses owners, but on average the businessman and corporate executive wants at least some government created advantages.

To test the validity of this statement listen to when someone like Mr. Dimon says that bitcoin is a "fraud"; or for those into statistics, just take a look at the ever increasing U.S Patent Chart.

It should be abundantly clear that people who engage in commerce are in it to establish their enterprise and make profits; as it should be, there's nothing inherently wrong with that position. The bottom line is businessmen are looking to gain utility by providing utility and this fact is essential for civilization to continue as it does.

Regardless, does this mean your typical run-of-the-mill or even great businessperson really care about simple freedom?

"Don't be evil" is the tagline of Google, one of the largest companies in the world. I don't think working alongside government implementing censorship and controlling the flow of information online qualifies as not being evil.

Yet, at the same time, contrary toward the in vogue sentiment, companies can't be blamed solely for all the exploitation that occurs today. Like all problems, we have to get at the root to truly understand what's going on.

State-sponsored economic advantage is nothing new, in fact, Didus Julianus became the Roman Emperor by buying it out from the Imperial Army. In a similar manner, as far using money to gain power, the founding of the US was not too far off either.

For those involved in industry there's no better way than increasing the supply of their capital and control of resources through subsidizes, mandates, or other statutes. The use of legal operations is highly convenient and immediately beneficial for business.

There's nothing stopping this from continuing. The businessman, his associates, and especially his wife enjoy the benefits of cronyism.

Being opportunistic in industry could just be an issue of time preference along with a lack of the right resources. Perhaps men of business could realize using the State as their lever for optimizing profits is a zero-sum game in the long run; and that they would be better off relying on market means to ensure their success.

It's often said that things in nature follow the path of least resistance like electricity does, but it occurs in social actions as well. The ends justify the means way of thinking is only supported because it doesn't take much energy to pursue it.

Cryptocurrencies and the underlying technology of blockchain offer an alternative path of least resistance, so let's see if our businessmen will take it.

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