This was the work of the Sons of Liberty, a group which would become known for acts of resistance, arson, and violence against tax collectors and other agents of the crown.
But why destroy the tea of a private company if the group's target was the British state? The answer, of course, is that the East India Company was essentially an adjunct of the regime and private in name only. This was the era of mercantilism, when colonial governments used protectionism and monopoly powers to enrich the state and its supporters through supposedly private companies. The Sons of Liberty understood the system well and targeted the "private" East India Company.
The success of the American Revolution struck a heavy blow against the mercantilist system. But unfortunately, the wound was not mortal. Many old mercantilist policies persisted under new labels and were promoted with new claims of helping "the people." The regime of the new republic, too, used the tools of cartelization, monopoly, regulation, and taxation to support certain corporate friends at the expense of the ordinary people.
~ Ryan McMaken, "From the Editor," The Misesian, p. 5, January-February 2025
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| 1973 |
