F.A. Hayek popularized the theory of unintended conse- quences which argues that conscious acts produce undesigned results. This is the theory of unintended consequences, and it explains why good men who act through bad institutions will produce bad results. Good men acting through the state will strengthen its legitimacy and institutional framework. They will weaken the social conditions that allow social power to surge. Ultimately, whether or not they repeal any particular law becomes as irrelevant to producing freedom as their intentions. Returning to the question of voting for Hitler... Purely for the sake of argument, Ill grant the possibility that I could morally cast a ballot. Even in these circumstances, however, I would still refuse to vote against Hitler. Why? Because the essential problem is not Hitler, but the institutional framework that allows a Hitler to grasp a monopoly on power. Without the state to back him up and an election to give him legitimized power, Hitler would have been -- at most -- the leader of some ragged thugs who mugged people in back alleys. Voting for or against Hitler would only strengthen the institutional framework that produced him -- a framework that would produce another of his ilk in two seconds.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 23:01:07 +0000
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