This shouldn’t come as a shock to SLL readers, but sometimes business uses government to stifle the competition. Got a supplement that cures cancer? Don’t tell anyone about it or you’ll probably get thrown in jail. From Hunter Lewis at mises.org:
Blue jeans have more in common with drugs than you might think.
One of the more consequential episodes in the history of crony capitalism occurred in 17th and 18th century France. Cheap clothing made from cotton was threatening the rich woolen, linen, and silk manufacturers, so they persuaded the government to ban it. In short order, government agents began spying into homes and coaches and reporting on anyone who dared to wear the new fabric. Thousands of violators of the ban were rounded up and either sent to prison or to ships as galley slaves, which was a death sentence.
In Britain, the same manufacturers demanded a similar ban from the King, but were turned down. As a direct result, Britain launched its industrial revolution by making cheap cotton clothing for the world, and began to get rich, while France stagnated economically. If France had not banned cotton, and had not fallen so far behind Britain economically, Napoleon might have had the money to build a huge fleet and successfully invade Britain. European and world history might have turned out quite differently.
It is easy to recognize and mock the absurdities of crony capitalism in the past, but not always easy to spot it today. For example, we have a replay of the cotton story in contemporary American medicine. It is increasingly recognized that food, supplements, and lifestyle changes are the most potent medicines. But this represents a threat to drug companies, oncologists, and surgeons, and they have enlisted the power of the government to protect their interests.
It is illegal to claim that any substance, even a food, not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can cure, control, or even prevent an illness. But approval costs many billions of dollars, so with few exceptions only new to nature molecules, that is, patentable drugs, can be approved. A producer of food or supplements who violates this law will be threatened with massive fines and long jail terms.
To continue reading: Drug Companies Want to Use the State to Shut Down the Competition
