Other Schools of Thought

On Sunday, December 10, General Augusto Pinochet of Chile died, at the age of 91.

Dobbs goes back and forth throughout the book, confusing capitalism with mercantilism, blaming mercantilism for bad policies that he calls capitalism, and blaming free trade for the consequences of protectionist policies … and then there's his actual understanding of politics itself. I hesitate to say what his understanding of economics is because there isn't any economics in War on the Middle Class. There's a lot of talk about how this nation was founded on a principle of economic opportunity, but that's as close as Dobbs comes.

Perkins called his job that of an economic hit man — the person who makes the initial case for the infrastructure development with such optimistic (and purposely misleading) biases that they become deals that cannot be refused.

Dr. Pavlov's tricks worked in limited ways for dogs who respond mostly according to instinct. But, lest we forget, Iraqis are human beings with free will, and, like all human beings, they are disinclined to appreciate being treated like dogs who respond only to their would-be owner’s rewards and punishments.

A free market of alcohol would become a lucrative market for countless people if left in private hands. By monopolizing it, the Russian government takes bread from the mouths of average families.

The fundamental dogma of all brands of socialism and communism is that the market economy or capitalism is a system that hurts the vital interests of the immense majority of people for the sole benefit of a small minority of rugged individualists.

If we were to make a science out of the study of special interest groups, we would conclude that the cause of liberty is hopeless. Those who have the most to gain from intervention are well organized and well connected. Those who have the most to gain from freedom are dispersed, diffuse, and not well connected.

The most accurate description of the twentieth century is "The War and Welfare Century." This century was the bloodiest in all history. More than 170 million people were killed by governments with ten million being killed in World War I and fifty million killed in World War II. In regard to the fifty million killed in World War II, it is significant that nearly 70 percent were innocent civilians, mainly as a result of the bombing of cities by Great Britain and America.

A debate between Dr. Glenn Drover of the UBC School of Social Work and Dr. Walter Block of the Fraser Institute on 24 September 1988.

Hayek argues that exceptionally intelligent people who favor the market tend to find opportunities for professional and financial success outside the Academy (i.e., in the business or professional world). Those who are highly intelligent but ill-disposed toward the market are more likely to choose an academic career. For this reason, the universities come to be filled with those intellectuals who were favorably disposed toward socialism from the beginning.