by John Tamny
The American Institute for Economic Research
“They loathe capitalism because it has assigned to this other man the position they themselves would like to have.” – Ludwig von Mises, The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality, p. 10
There’s the famous saying “misery loves company.” Rather than being cheered up, sometimes we want to be around the miserable to confirm our own.
This might explain why there were Russian nostalgists for the old days after the old Soviet Union happily fell into the dustbin of history. Misery is in a sense the easy route.
Per the Mises quote that begins this piece, some doubtless prefer a lack of economic freedom because the lack of upward mobility gives them an excuse for not being upwardly mobile. If no one’s allowed to rise, then those who lack enterprise won’t have their indolence exposed.