Did you ever hear of the Luddites? In 19th-century England, they set about destroying looms and other relatively advanced machinery, fearful that the devices would wipe out jobs that required more manual labor — even though those machines created other jobs and reduced prices.
The Luddites believed their intentions to be noble, but their mindset restrained, rather than promoted, economic growth. We saw a story recently about some modern-day Americans who have adopted a Luddite economic viewpoint.
In Provincetown, Mass., residents voted to make it hard for a chain store to establish a business in the town. A backer of the new rules told The New York Times she was motivated to act by a family-owned T-shirt shop that was a hit with consumers. The low-price shop, named “Cuffy’s,” had just two locations, but she accused it of harming more expensive, independent shops.
We sympathize with a “mom-and-pop” store that faces stiff competition, but isn’t that how the free-market system works? Shouldn’t Provincetown and other cities let consumers decide what businesses will get their dollars, based on consumer preference? As one deli owner in the town told The New York Times, “(T)he idea that I’m going to regulate away competition makes no sense.”
Provincetown thinks it is nobly protecting local businesses and jobs. But it is really imposing artificially higher prices on consumers.