What might be even more distressing than the current buildup of the corporate state in response to the supposed economic crisis is the way some self-styled advocates of the free market are willing to cast aside the economic theory they claimed to embrace.The rest of this week's TGIF, "Theory and Crisis," is at the Foundation for Economic Education website.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Theory and Crisis
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What might be even more distressing ... is the way some self-styled advocates of the free market are willing to cast aside the economic theory they claimed to embrace.
You mean the ones who never quite understood what the word "free" in free markets meant, or the ones who lack the guts to let the free market judge their investment decisions?
This was a very good point Sheldon. This is a much more widespread mechanism than you seem to think. It just so happens that I have begun to write up some posts on how people think every principle has exceptions.
They confuse tolerance towards exceptions, which is required if we are to leave in a peaceful society, with acceptance of the same, with the idea that such exceptions are normal, and even required, as you describe in your post when it comes to the bridling of the market.
The very same thing happens to freedom of speech: some will have that freedom, but not others; because the speech of these others is just 'too dangerous'.
A principle has no exceptions. Otherwise it is not a principle, it is a list of authorizations and interdictions. And that list changes as time passes by.
George Carlin said: "Either we have unlimited rights or we have no rights at all."
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