If a detailed, factual study were made of all those instances in the history of
American industry which have been used by the statists as an indictment of free
enterprise and as an argument in favor of a government-controlled economy, it
would be found that the actions blamed on businessmen were caused,
necessitated, and made possible only by government intervention in business.
The evils, popularly ascribed to big industrialists, were not the result of an
unregulated industry, but of government power over industry. The villain in the
picture was not the businessman, but the legislator, not free enterprise, but
government controls.