Jean Philippe Delsol: Unintended consequences of regulation [Free Market Road Show]

“The more civil servants there are, the more regulations there are since civil servants have nothing more pressing than to produce regulation in order to prove themselves useful. And the more civil servants there are and the more regulations there are, the greater the risk of corruption is.” -Jean-Philippe Delsol

Jean-Philippe Delsol emphasized first the reduction of freedoms during the pandemic, mentioning France in particular, and the dynamic which leads these abnormal restrictions to become perceived as normal by ordinary citizens. Mr. Delsol identified this dynamic as a manifestation of ‘voluntary servitude’ a term which originated with a nineteenth-century French writer. He later described the ease with which state expenditures grew during the pandemic, citing the fact that French public spending amounted to over two-thirds of total GDP in 2020.

Mr. Delsol discussed the manner by which the pandemic provided a pretext for centralization. He warned of a technocratic layer that threatens to undermine decision-making, drawing from the example of mismanaged vaccine procurement in the European Union. He also referred to the state’s tendency to blackmail businesses to ensure they abide by new and sweeping regulations.

Mr. Delsol expressed concern for the financial condition of businesses after the pandemic, particularly amidst the looming risk of state intervention. Corruption risks accompanying the growth in bureaucracy, and that an increasing bureaucracy acts as a self-perpetuating mechanism for producing further regulation. This vicious regulatory cycle progressively undermines entrepreneurship, makes nations poorer, and usually culminates in a general collapse. Politicians believe they are doing good when they decide on behalf of citizens and maneuver to win support for their political objectives.


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Jean-Philippe Delsol is a French tax lawyer, writer, administrator of the think tank IREF (Institute of Economic and Fiscal Research). He has double training as a historian and a jurist. In the exercise of his profession as a business lawyer, he acquired a thorough knowledge of companies and, more generally, of economic life, both in France and abroad. He has always remained attentive to the intellectual and political movements of his time, through elective functions. He founded the “Delsol avocats” firm in Lyon in 1981, which has about 80 lawyers and provides advice and follow-up to many French nationals who wish to transfer their domicile abroad. He is the author of eight books and appears frequently in the media.

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