Dan McLaughlin

Voices For Freedom Read Columns Daniel McLaughlin
To Home Page Latest Newsletter Column Archives Click to get these columns for your local paper	© 2007 Daniel J. McLaughlin 21^st Century Robin Hood The story of Robin Hood tells of a hero who gained fame all through the land for his unusual method of helping the downtrodden. He made a name for himself by robbing the rich to give to the poor. It is a fable that many people relate to, but often come away with the wrong lesson. The Robin Hood mentality of many people today assumes that the only way that people get wealthy is by cheating the poor. The Sheriff Of Nottingham was the nemesis of the Robin Hood of old. The Sheriff had, indeed, gotten his wealth at the expense of the peasants. He is the bad guy of the story. This bad guy was not an entrepreneur that hit on a great idea and found a growing market for his product. The sheriff was the government. He abused his power and his citizens, and lived off the sweat of their backs. The sheriff stole, legally and illegally, from the people and oppressed them continually. Robin Hood used this as a justification for violent resistance to the sheriffs forces, stealing from the “rich”, meaning those who got their wealth by the political means. The real moral of the story is that Robin was not fighting people who had gotten their wealth by legitimate means of fair trade. He was fighting against oppressive government. He was, in effect, a political revolutionary. He was fighting the forces of unlimited government power and disregard for human rights and property. Many of the would-be Robin Hoods of today mistake the object of the fabled Robin’s hatred. Under the political system of that time, there were very few wealthy people, and those that were represented the governing elite. The presumption that wealth could only be acquired through power and coercion was fitting for that time. As with many destitute societies today, whenever anybody acquired a degree of wealth in Robin’s time, it was confiscated by those in power. Only people with political connections were able to amass any significant wealth. Over the millennia of human history, many societies developed a culture of hoarding and hiding of valuables because of fear of theft, or outright confiscation by government. The problem with a habit of burying your wealth is that it does nobody much good. It only encourages a society of people looking for hoards to pilfer. In modern day societies where property rights are well protected, there is less need to hide your possessions. People can use articles of wealth, their own labor, money, or any other valuable possession, to improve their own welfare and that of their families. They can use them to make their own labor, and that of others, more productive. They can use them in trade, to the benefit of the traders and the rest of society. Convincing evidence confirms that the more free and open a society’s markets are, the better off the people are in all measures of well being. The stronger the property rights, the more open people will be to trading and improving their lot in life. The opposite also holds true. The more intrusive the government, the less open and free the traders and the markets are. The weaker the property rights, the poorer the society. It has been noted that when governments raise tax rates, less income gets reported. Taxation is a type of confiscation. When that confiscation gets excessive, people revert to the hoarding and hiding mentality. It is a function of the logic of self preservation and self interest. It seems that Europe has developed a new shining star, the Emerald Isle, with Irish incomes 40% higher than the rest of Europe. It is surprising, not only in how well they are doing now, but more so because of where they came from. They have sprung out of backwardness to become the economic leaders, growing significantly faster than the rest of the European countries. Their progress isn’t luck. The factors that have contributed to their economic health are significant tax reduction, freeing of markets, encouragement of business development, and a significant reduction in the size and interventionist activity of government. In that country, Robin Hood shut down the evil Sheriff. The people are free to prosper without excessive confiscation. Their rights are protected and they can use their property to improve their lives, their productivity and their society. They are free to be wealthy. American Robin Hoods should take heed, and make sure they are battling the right villain. The Sheriff still lives.
Contact us Privacy Policy Comments
Daniel Mclaughlin Copyright © 2006 [Daniel McLaughlin]. All rights reserved. Revised: 03/18/08

Voices For Freedom

Read Columns

Daniel McLaughlin

To Home Page

Latest Newsletter

Column Archives

Click to get these columns for your local paper

21^st Century Robin Hood

The story of Robin Hood tells of a hero who gained fame all through the land for his unusual method of helping the downtrodden. He made a name for himself by robbing the rich to give to the poor. It is a fable that many people relate to, but often come away with the wrong lesson.

The Robin Hood mentality of many people today assumes that the only way that people get wealthy is by cheating the poor. The Sheriff Of Nottingham was the nemesis of the Robin Hood of old. The Sheriff had, indeed, gotten his wealth at the expense of the peasants. He is the bad guy of the story. This bad guy was not an entrepreneur that hit on a great idea and found a growing market for his product. The sheriff was the government. He abused his power and his citizens, and lived off the sweat of their backs. The sheriff stole, legally and illegally, from the people and oppressed them continually. Robin Hood used this as a justification for violent resistance to the sheriffs forces, stealing from the “rich”, meaning those who got their wealth by the political means.

The real moral of the story is that Robin was not fighting people who had gotten their wealth by legitimate means of fair trade. He was fighting against oppressive government. He was, in effect, a political revolutionary. He was fighting the forces of unlimited government power and disregard for human rights and property.

Many of the would-be Robin Hoods of today mistake the object of the fabled Robin’s hatred. Under the political system of that time, there were very few wealthy people, and those that were represented the governing elite. The presumption that wealth could only be acquired through power and coercion was fitting for that time. As with many destitute societies today, whenever anybody acquired a degree of wealth in Robin’s time, it was confiscated by those in power. Only people with political connections were able to amass any significant wealth.

Over the millennia of human history, many societies developed a culture of hoarding and hiding of valuables because of fear of theft, or outright confiscation by government. The problem with a habit of burying your wealth is that it does nobody much good. It only encourages a society of people looking for hoards to pilfer.

In modern day societies where property rights are well protected, there is less need to hide your possessions. People can use articles of wealth, their own labor, money, or any other valuable possession, to improve their own welfare and that of their families. They can use them to make their own labor, and that of others, more productive. They can use them in trade, to the benefit of the traders and the rest of society.

Convincing evidence confirms that the more free and open a society’s markets are, the better off the people are in all measures of well being. The stronger the property rights, the more open people will be to trading and improving their lot in life. The opposite also holds true. The more intrusive the government, the less open and free the traders and the markets are. The weaker the property rights, the poorer the society.

It has been noted that when governments raise tax rates, less income gets reported. Taxation is a type of confiscation. When that confiscation gets excessive, people revert to the hoarding and hiding mentality. It is a function of the logic of self preservation and self interest.

It seems that Europe has developed a new shining star, the Emerald Isle, with Irish incomes 40% higher than the rest of Europe. It is surprising, not only in how well they are doing now, but more so because of where they came from. They have sprung out of backwardness to become the economic leaders, growing significantly faster than the rest of the European countries. Their progress isn’t luck. The factors that have contributed to their economic health are significant tax reduction, freeing of markets, encouragement of business development, and a significant reduction in the size and interventionist activity of government.

In that country, Robin Hood shut down the evil Sheriff. The people are free to prosper without excessive confiscation. Their rights are protected and they can use their property to improve their lives, their productivity and their society. They are free to be wealthy. American Robin Hoods should take heed, and make sure they are battling the right villain. The Sheriff still lives.

Hit Counter