What Happens When We Deny the Laws of Economics?

Denial of the laws [of economics] by popular vote or strike or clever thought experiments does not deny the laws of economics themselves.  It just produces things like the Great Depression, or the Collapse of Communism, the Failure of Development Planning, and the fiscal crises that is plaguing the PIGS at the moment.

That's Dr. Peter Boettke explaining why we shouldn't ignore the laws of economics (which never change and can't be changed, just like the laws of nature).

Markets are amazingly resilient forces as individuals even in the worst of circumstances will attempt to realize the gains from trade and the gains from innovation.  We are constantly confronted in economic life with the counter-factual --- what would economic growth look like if the parasitic and predatory state simply wasn't in place to thwart economic progress.  If even relatively free market economies produce such amazing growth through the gains from trade and the gains from innovation, then imagine what might result under a truly free market system.  And also realize how much stupidity the gains from trade and the gains from innovation can off-set.  Adam Smith recognized the stupidity, as did Ludwig von Mises -- we have experienced tremendous progress since Adam Smith and also since Ludwig von Mises wrote, but not as much as would have been experienced had we really learned from them rather than just pay lip-service to the teachings of economics in the realm of public policy.  And the denial of the teachings of economics by politicians and policy experts has brought the economies of the western democracies to their knees in a public debt crisis.  Next up, unless we watch and heed Adam Smith's warnings, will be a monetary system crisis.  The "juggling tricks" of deficits, debt and debasement can only conceal the deleterious effects of bad policy for so long.
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As you watch the events unfold in Europe and also right here in the US recognize that the policies that have resulted in the situation are a consequence of men (whether they "economists" or not is besides the point) denying the laws of economics.

(Bolding done by me)