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Could it be we are as ignorant as the liberal theory?

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kylepeabody Posted: Sat, Dec 27 2008 9:05 PM | Locked

I was just thinking to myself, that liberals are generally thought of to be ignorant in their belief and trust that government can do great things for them, and along lines such as those.

We free-market advocates believe that the free-market will always bring us the best solutions.

So my point is, are we overly reliant on the free-market, in the way that a liberal would be with the government?

 

This was just a random thought, but I'd like to hear what others think about it.

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"Market fundamentalism" is the oldest political insult in the book.

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Shawn77 replied on Sat, Dec 27 2008 9:32 PM

"

I was born free. Liberty is my first goal. The free market

is the only result that can be expected from a free society. I do not

accept individual freedom

 

because the market is efficient. Even if the

free market were less “efficient” than central planning, I would still

prefer my personal freedom to coercion. Fortunately, I don’t need to

make a choice. Austrian economics upholds the market’s efficiency,

and that reinforces my overwhelming desire and right to be free"  Ron Paul from Mises  and Austrian Economics  a Personal View

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Sphairon replied on Sat, Dec 27 2008 9:34 PM

That's like asking, "Some people believe that oil is the only beneficial source of refreshment. We believe that water is. Wouldn't it be reasonable to mix the two, then?"

Seriously though, the characteristics of markets and of government are diametrically opposed. Markets work via conviction and production, government via force and expropriation. This leads to completely different incentive structures for both systems that, in turn, create diverse results, with markets working for the customer and government working for its own members and their politically connected friends.

Whenever the proposal of a "third solution" comes up, think of oil and water. We don't need a third solution there, and we don't need one with the state either.


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Belief that relying "too much" on the free market is bad is like believing that relying "too much" on oxygen and water is bad for you, so you must substitute chlorine gas and gasoline.

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jtucker replied on Sat, Dec 27 2008 10:17 PM

I hear this all the time from left and right. but my universal experience is that everyone, including market supporters, tend to underestimate and downplay the centrality of market forces to the whole civilizational project. Hardly a day goes by when I'm not surprised and impressed by what market forces accomplish, in good time and bad. Actually I'm glad to defend the proposition that the free market gives us the best of all possible worlds in all times and places, no exceptions ever.

Jeffrey Tucker
Editorial VP, Mises

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Sage replied on Sat, Dec 27 2008 10:31 PM

Define your terms.

Government = violence; Market = voluntary cooperation.

And the question answers itself.

LibertarianAnarchy.com - Government is immoral, unnecessary, and doesn't work!

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MacFall replied on Sat, Dec 27 2008 11:20 PM

The market is the sum of all voluntary human interaction. That is to say, the sum of all the exertions of creative energy and problem-solving potential available to mankind. The state is nothing but a form of coercion; a counter-productive force which at best impedes and at worst destroys the great problem-solving engine that is the free market.

If one accuses us of being overly reliant on the free market, one says that all the ingenuity and productive energy in the world is unfit to solve the world's problems, and coercion and destruction must be employed in its place. Essentially, their position is that the solution to human problems requires the suppression of the solution to human problems. It is an indefensible position.

Pro Christo et Libertate integre!

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kylepeabody:

So my point is, are we overly reliant on the free-market, in the way that a liberal would be with the government?

 

Only in the sense that many free market advocates end up looking like utopians.

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"

Bob Dylan

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I do understand what you are saying.  The main issue with ideoligies is that they tend to allow a particular faction to hold a non compromising point of view.  One of the main reasons people dismiss any point of view is an all or nothing attitude, which is why i have began trying to take into consideration opposing view points; so to strengthen my overall position of free markets.

 

There is a reason that amnesty international is not taken seriously...

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If some believe slavery is partially alright, and they call us anti-slavery fundamentalists, all I can say is, feel free to "insult" me to your moronic "liberal" heart's content. Translate slavery to statism, and there you have it. BTW if anyone evokes the Aristotelian doctrine of the mean, tell them to go read Aristotle and try not to be so ignorant in the future.

To darkness I condemn you...

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macsnafu replied on Tue, Dec 30 2008 2:38 PM

One does not have to "believe" in the free market any more than one has to believe in gravity to keep from floating off the planet into space.  But the world makes a whole heck of a lot more sense if you do.

 

 

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