Robert P. Murphy of the Institute for Energy Research and author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism hits the nail on the head yet again in a recent article for the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
He starts out by saying:
“The recent political controversies over record oil prices have underscored the sad truth that even nominal friends of the market don’t understand how it really works.”
“Because they have only a superficial grasp of this complex “organism” and how it coordinates interactions among billions of Homo sapiens spread across the entire planet, they quickly denounce its operations whenever things depart from the ordinary. The market is apparently good enough to be allowed to work when things are monotonous, but (we are told by its fair-weather friends) the politicians need to take the wheel when the road gets bumpy.” [More…]
Of course the comment that “Government needs to do something” is often invoked here at home when people perceive the market is not working for the benefit of consumers as it should.
These calls are made even though government track record is so dismal. We constantly complain that government services are worse than the private sector and so many of their ministries and agencies fail to deliver their stated goals and objectives. Yet, when we each need to buckle down and support the market, we call for government to do something.
It is one of life’s greatest paradoxes.
As George Reisman points out in his marvellous book, A complete and integrated understanding of the nature and value of human economic life CAPITALISM:
“Perhaps the supporters of capitalism are still too few and for the most part still insufficiently prepared intellectually to win this battle. If so, there will be numerous future occasions on which they can turn the tide. They have only to learn how to articulate their case – that is, to become intellectuals who thoroughly understand economic theory and political philosophy, and enough of more fundamental philosophy to uphold the value of human reason. If enough of them do this, their cause will be irresistible. It will be as the waves of the ocean acting on a foundation made of sand. Inevitably and irresistibly the sand is washed away and the foundation undermined. “Sand” is all that remains of the intellectual foundations of socialism and the opposition to capitalism. Let the advocates of capitalism proceed in the knowledge not only that socialism is dead, but also that what the world still needs to learn is why capitalism deserves to live.”
I am enjoying the journey toward that understanding and hope to add to the debate in a meaningful way through these posts.
We can do better than calling on failed governments and their reckless policies, outside their normal bounds, to solve our problems.
