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Show but you have deprived me of further fur-ther incentive to work and accumulate accum-ulate property through service to others. Mark well these words: YOUR LOSS IS GREATER THAN MINE. JOHN HUMMEL "Gun Play In The Market Place" The following condensed version ver-sion of GUN PLAY IN THE MARKET MAR-KET PLACE, published by the Foundation for Economic Education Ed-ucation is printed here by permission. per-mission. The stage is occupied by several sev-eral persons identified id-entified as Society. Soc-iety. A farmer enters en-ters with a bushel of wheat and a consumer begins to bargain with him. After some haggling, they agree upon a price of $1.00. The farmer has tried hard to get $1.50 and isn't too happy. Suddenly he whips out a eun and demands another 50 cents. The consumer suggests they call off the deal, but the farmer insists on -and gets -another 50 cents. Society is duly shocked, and after af-ter considerable discussion and voting persuades the farmer to re-, re-, turn the 50 cents, promising to work out a more satisfactory solution. sol-ution. The obvious leader in this discussion is a person who wants to do good to everyone. The next scene shows the farmer far-mer and consumer bargaining over another bushel of wheat. Again they agree of $1.00. The farmer looks questioningly at the do-gooder, who nods his head, and a man wearing wear-ing a sign "Tax Collector", and carrying the farmer's gun steps forward. He takes 60 cents from the consumer, pockets 10 cents, and gives 50 cents to the farmer. The farmer is pleased. Photographers Photograp-hers ask him to pose shaking hands with the beaming do-gooder, with the rest of society aligned as background for the picture. Meanwhile, the consumer is being be-ing quietly interviewed by the nar-raror. nar-raror. Narrator: You seem disatisfied with this transaction; yet your wheat cost only $1.00, a price you were willing to pay. Consumer: Yes, but there was a 60 tax on the transaction, which means the wheat cost me $1.60. Narrator: But surely, you do not object to a legal taxi Consumer: Legal, perhaps, but remarkably re-markably like the other transaction tran-saction which was deemed illegal. The tax collecter used the same gun to take the 60 cents from me that the farmer used when he robbed me of 50 cents. Now that robbery is legalized, it cost me more money and society is no longer concerned in protecting me from the robber. Narrator: How can you describe this democratic action of society as legalized robbery? The people voted for it. Consumer (Shaking his head and slowly walking away):. I only know that in both instances my money- the product o my labor-was taken from me against my will and given to a person who did not earn it. (He turns to address society): You have taken my property to do "good" a member of your group, |