I am in awe of how subtly and artfully deceptive this essay is. One of the best pieces of propaganda I have ever read. Summarized in this passage:<p><i>Once government has had a monopoly of a creative activity such, for instance, as the delivery of the mails, most individuals will believe that the mails could not be efficiently delivered by men acting freely.</i><p>Is that <i>really</i> why people push for some services to be government provided? I thought it was because some services are too easy to abuse, such as the ancient Roman fire services that would buy burning houses at a steep discount. Or modern US healthcare, that does all it can to hide prices from patients. Or ISPs and phone companies, selling browsing and location data.<p>And are men not acting freely if their activities are tax-funded? If market forces compel us to purchase a product or take a job (e.g. in a company town, for scrip), this is freedom, but if we democratically agree to communally fund a service, that's serfdom?