The state as an inhibitor of productive development in a crisis of economic freedom and suffocation of the business class

Abstract

This article presents a critical analysis of the impact of state action on entrepreneurial activity in Brazil, grounded in classical economic theory, institutional data, and contemporary literature. Drawing from liberal and institutionalist frameworks, the study examines how the Brazilian governance model—marked by excessive bureaucracy, disproportionate tax burdens, and a punitive fiscal apparatus—undermines economic freedom and discourages national productivity. Building upon the works of Ludwig von Mises, who emphasized the destructive effects of interventionism on economic efficiency and individual autonomy, the article argues that the Brazilian state consistently oversteps its regulatory function and acts as a barrier to development. Data from the World Bank, the Federal Revenue Service, the OECD, and organizations such as CNI and Sebrae demonstrate that doing business in Brazil entails facing a system that criminalizes success, bureaucratizes merit, and penalizes initiative. The findings reveal that the current institutional environment not only fails to provide legal certainty and predictability but also fosters a structural distrust of productive agents. Brazilian entrepreneurs are treated as presumed offenders, subjected to ambiguous regulations, unilateral inspections, and operational obstacles incompatible with sustainable economic growth. The study advocates for a critical review of the relationship between the state and the productive sector, guided by principles of efficiency, legal security, and economic freedom. This is not a matter of ideology, but of national survival: no country can thrive while treating its wealth creators as adversaries. Overcoming this model is, therefore, a technical, ethical, and strategic imperative for Brazil to resume a path of solid development.