Economics is not morality. This is my primary problem with Anarcho-Capitalists as they tend to equate the two and assume that people will behave once government restraints are lifted. And while I do agree that too much government is terrible, no government administering justice for offences that cannot be measured is just as bad (offences that cannot be measured are murder, rape, and kidnapping, unlike property crimes).
There is a split I’ve seen though among libertarians and their support or non-support of large corporations. On one side, you have the free marketeers who demand that all corporations be allowed to operate with impunity. On the other side, you have free marketeers who demand that the concept of corporation be abolished entirely. I tend to agree with the latter over the former.
The problem right now is that the welfare and warfare state in the United States is being propped up by large corporations. And no, these are not necessarily government contractors. These are companies that could make a healthy profit outside of the government dole and yet are still taking every advantage they can to ensure the continuation of the welfare state.
This is inherently immoral. Yes it is profitable and yes, many business executives would probably be foolish to not take advantage of the government’s cankerous tit. But what is profitable is not necessarily what is moral.
It is immoral to take the hard-earned money of a productive citizen and pass it on to anyone else, be they rich or poor. This is because taking that money is theft. Stealing is a sin last I checked.
And encouraging a thief is just as bad. This is essentially what many large corporations are doing when they lobby for the welfare state. They are behaving immorally and without integrity.
Now, I am not saying that we should pass a law to make companies more moral. On the contrary, I believe that we should deregulate and cut welfare spending entirely.
The trouble is, all the big money is backing the welfare-warfare state largely without regard for America’s golden goose, the middle class. Nearly every major industry that features national or multi-national corporations has their hands in the government pie in some way. And so long as they do, they are going to continue to ensure that the pie is fresh.
So before you go to Wal-Mart or do banking with Bank of America, try and figure out what they stand for. If they are lobbying for more government, not less, then perhaps you look elsewhere for your goods and services because they already are stealing from you.