PFP236 | Doug French, How Movements are Turned into Rackets (PFS 2022)

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 236.

This talk is from the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society. Doug French (USA), “How Movements are Turned into Rackets”.

See also Sean Ring, “How Movements are Turned into Rackets,” The Rude Awakening (Sept. 16, 2022).

PFS 2022 Playlist.

From the transcript from the panel discussion: PFP240 | Tögel, French, Groezinger, Model, Gabb: Discussion, Q&A (PFS 2022):

[15:20]

Hans-Hermann Hoppe

For Doug: You said movements turn into rackets. Are there movements that didn’t?

[15:52]

Doug French

It’s hard to imagine. Even with the best intentions, you’d need angels running these organizations. A wise man once told me, “No tank, no think.” If you want a think tank, you need to raise money, but then money becomes the mission. It’s not too different from the private sector, but in the private sector, people pay directly for a good or service, so it’s not a scam. In nonprofits or politics, you raise money from one group and give it to another, which is always an issue. Your customers aren’t your donors. Only in a private capitalist society does a movement for a good avoid turning into a scam.

[18:21]

Hans-Hermann Hoppe

So, the PFS isn’t a racket, right?

[18:27]

Doug French

In the case of PFS, the consumers are the payers, like a private business. That means we’re angels, yes. [Applause] I assume you took that from my comment. The doctors are angels; they only reach out for funds when they have a fabulous product to provide. It’s not like Hans and Gerd are building pyramids in Istanbul or Bodrum for underemployed academics to do deep thinking. We provide funds willingly, enjoy the fruits, and 16 years prove it’s worth it—not a scam. Hopefully, it lasts 16, 32, or 48 more years. How long will you live, since you’re an angel?

Hans-Hermann Hoppe

I haven’t decided yet.