[500] in libertarians
Laissez Faire Book News: PRINCESS NAVINA Satires
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Chris Whitten)
Mon Dec 12 11:00:01 1994
Date: Mon, 12 Dec 1994 10:50:53 -0500 (EST)
From: Chris Whitten <lfb@panix.com>
Apparently-To: <libertarians@mit.edu>
Clever satires about government run amuck
PRINCESS NAVINA VISITS MANDAAT
PRINCESS NAVINA VISITS MALVOLIA
by James L. Payne
(reviewed by Jim Powell)
Two enlightening satires, for children and adults alike,
about Princess Navina who visits different lands so she can see
what *not* to do for her home country.
In Malvolia, the aim of government is the greatest
unhappiness for the greatest number. Malvolia's ruler hit on a
couple key policies. First, make welfare handouts easily
available. Soon women complained: "Our husbands are becoming
shiftless and lazy. They know they need not work. Now they spend
their time with wine, and wenches. Their self-respect is taken
away, and they grow angry at each other, and at us."
Malvolia's other policy for promoting unhappiness: give
unmerited benefits to officially-designated minorities, starting
with everyone whose last names end with "m." There were college
admissions quotas and employer hiring quotas for the "m"
minority. The policy provoked so much resentment that the
government announced unmerited benefits for people whose names
ended with other letters. "Our long-run objective," explained an
official, "is to turn all our citizens into specially treated
minorities, so that everyone will resent everyone else." See for
yourself how this came to pass.
Meanwhile, Mandaat measures its annual progress by the
weight of paper required to publish new laws--more than 20 tons
seems to be a good year. "Are these gentlemen able to read the
laws they are approving?" asked the princess. Replied her guide:
"My dear, that would never do. If they waited until they knew
what they were voting on, they would never get anything done."
Supposedly to maintain order, Mandaat requires permits for
almost every particular act, such as leaving your house, which
leads to many absurdities. An enforcer chased the princess after
she crossed a street without a permit, but luckily she was rescued
by a member of the underground. "We believe that the laws of
Mandaat are immoral," he declared. "It is our goal to undermine the
regime!" And replace it with what? "Nothing," he continued. "No
rules, no regulations, no laws, no anything. Then everybody will be
able to do as they please."
You'll want to see how this revealing story turns out.
"Clever book." --R. Emmett Tyrrell, *American Spectator*
"Constructive and amusing." --Gordon Tullock, University of
Arizona
PRINCESS NAVINA SET
CH6212 (2 vols., paperback) 106p. $17.90
LF PRICE ONLY $14.95
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Chris
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Chris Whitten LFB@panix.com
Laissez Faire Books 1-800-326-0996
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