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Abstract
This paper argues that laissez faire capitalism is the last best hope for mankind. That if the human race is to survive and prosper, put an end to starvation, hopelessness and unemployment, then we must embrace private property rights, the rule of law and free enterprise. No longer should "profits" be a dirty word.
I. Introduction
It is our contention that laissez faire capitalism is the last best hope for justice, prosperity and economic efficiency. We shall attempt to make this ease according to the outline that appears above.
By-laissex faire capitalism we mean a system based upon private property rights and free markets. This gives rise to two possible scenarios. First, government is strictly limited to protecting the persons and property of its citizens1. To this end, it has three separate institutions at its disposal: armies, to protect us from foreign aggressors, police, to do the same regarding domestic hoodlums, and courts, to determine guilt or innocence, and to mediate other disputes2. Second, more radically, government docs not exist at all, and all of the tasks that supposedly require its participation arc accomplished, instead, by private enterprise; this is called anarcho capitalism or libertarian anarchism3.
II. The case
A. The banking system
1. Offshore hanking
Part and parcel of a free enterprise regime are laws that allow unrestricted offshore banking (Gwartney. Lawson and Block. 1996). Moreover, for the protection of the masses of people who cannot make use of this option, real estate used for banking purposes must be legally extraterritorial insofar as financial matters are concerned, much as Churches at one time were havens and sanctuaries. That is to say. regarding financial matters; i.e., dollar denominated notes, bonds, etc., and deposits, the government should have no authority over the transactions that take place on that property. Much as there is political immunity for certain foreign diplomats, etc., which immunity runs to the person and for certain property that is owned by foreign governments-, there would financial immunity for non-theft and non-fraudulent financial transactions undertaken on bank-owned property used for banking purposes. Then the government could not freeze accounts or force conversion of deposits. That this is taking place on bank property would be, for financial matters, legally equivalent to occurring...