One Moment of Failure Does Not Make You a Loser

Chaehun Kim

The first book for the April Liberalism Reading Group is Mises’s . We had originally planned to read The Constitution of Liberty, which is to be newly translated, but after hearing that the translation schedule would take a bit longer, we chose this book instead.

From Chapter 1, “Capitalism,” to Chapter 2, “Socialism,” if I had to choose the most impressive passage, it would be the following:

If one accepts it as the duty of government to control the consumption of alcohol, what answer can be given to those who say that the control of books and ideas is far more important? Liberty is, indeed, the freedom to make mistakes. We must grasp this. We may be highly critical of the way our fellow citizens spend their money and live their lives. We may believe that what they do is absolutely foolish and bad.

When I think back on memorable arguments from conversations about politics, and more deeply, about drugs, one claim stands out: “Shouldn’t the state be responsible for making sure people do not make mistakes?” I think conversations about college admissions during my school years were similar. I still vividly remember debating the ratio between regular admissions and early admissions, all for the sake of each fleeting moment in the college entrance process, which lasts only a few months.

When you pause life at the moment of college admissions, there is truly much you fail to see. If you focus on those who fail and brand them as losers in life, you may find yourself taking away everyone’s chance at success in order to ensure that no one ever experiences failure.

“Liberty is, indeed, the freedom to make mistakes.” When we freeze a life in place and look at it, we often unwittingly drive people into the category of losers. But we must remember that countless failures existed in order for success to exist. It makes me reflect on whether I, too, have been treating someone as a loser because of a single moment of failure.

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Original title: 한 순간의 실패로 패배자가 되는 것은 아님을

Author: Jayujuui Ipmun Dokseo Toron Moim

Date: 2023-04-17

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=reading01&pn=3&idx=25536