People on the left often attempt to disparage classical liberal thinking with catchy little phrases like Neo Liberalism for example. But as Ludwig von Mises pointed out in his excellent treatise, Liberalism In The Classical Tradition;
"Nevertheless, brief and all too limited as the supremacy of liberal ideas was, it sufficed to change the face of the earth. A magnificent economic development took place. The release of man's productive powers multiplied the means of subsistence many times over." Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism, p 1. (Download Liberalism from FEE.org here…pdf)
And the benefits of globalization cannot be denied.
Is it perfect? Of course not, but it sure beats whatever socialist and mixed economic policies have wrought.
If you are interested in finding out more about Classical Liberalism (neo-liberalism), without reading Mises' book first, I highly recommend this brief article by Dr. Madsen Pirie of the Adam Smith Institute.
He sums liberalism up nicely in 10 short paragraphs.
1. Value is in the mind, not within objects.
Value is not a property of objects or a quality they possess…
2. Time must be factored into activities.
Time must be factored into economic transactions…
3. Imperfection abounds.
The world of human activity is not characterized by neatness and perfection. It is not represented by simple, pure principles in action. On the contrary, it is messy, and it changes from moment to moment…
4. Compare the present with the past rather than with an imagined and hypothetical future.
Free market economists tend to think the present is better than the past. People live longer. Life expectancy, which was about 30 years for millennia of human existence, is now at 68, and greater still in advanced countries…
5. The outcome of spontaneous interaction is better than a preconceived goal.
When people make choices, including economic ones, the outcome produced by those millions of interactions will contain more information and allow more different goals to be met than any brought about by planners thinking one up…
6. Poorer peoples become richer by creating wealth, not by redistributing it.
The world’s wealth is not a fixed supply to be shared out according to some idea of what is just. Wealth is created by exchange…
7. Life before the industrial revolution was far from idyllic.
Although some conservatives and environmentalists have a rosy view of Britain’s pre-industrial past, and praise what they call “the measured rhythm of rural life,” the reality was of abject subsistence for most, accompanied by squalor, disease and early death…
8. Economic growth is a good thing and there are no limits to it.
Economic growth brings the opportunities to satisfy our wants. It enables us to pay for medical care and sanitation, and for education…
9. Globalization has brought huge benefits to large numbers across the world.
Globalization has brought millions of people who previously lived fairly isolated, subsistence lives onto world markets…
10. The world is not reducible.
The real world is immensely complex, ever moving, ever changing. It cannot be reduced to a few simple equations…
I have only posted the opening sentence from each item so I implore you to read the entire article here…
Oh, it can be fun to mock important subjects with cute remarks, but until a better way can be found to create wealth, I'll consider myself a classical liberal.
