http://mises.org/daily/4315
An interesting excerpt from economic history is the French state's banning of calicoes in the late 17th / early 18th century. This was a time of mercantalism, of rules and regulations serving the absolute state, of grants of monopoly privilege and all manner of intervention in the economy (not unlike today). Calicoes are a type of cloth. The prohibition was lobbied for by the woolen, cloth, silk and linen industry who complained about 'unfair competition'.
Calicoes remained in use but domestic manufacturing of this product was completely shut down and many of the craftsmen who were employed in the production of these fabrics emigrated from France.
From the article :
Quote:
Government spies had a hysterical field day: "peering into coaches and private houses and reporting that the governess of the Marquis de Cormoy had been seen at her window clothed in calico of a white background with big red flowers, almost new, or that the wife of a lemonade-seller had been seen in her shop in a casquin of calico."[3] Literally thousands of Frenchmen died in the calico struggles, either being executed for wearing calicoes or in armed raids against calico users.
