The free market is the silliest thing that otherwise intelligent people celebrate. It is the basic doctrine of libertarians, a party whose members take satisfaction in sounding much smarter than they are. That alone should cause you to distrust free market rhetoric. Most libertarians do not comprehend how things are connected. For example, pay less in taxes and you will pay less in the short run, but in the long run, because everyone else is poor as fuck as a result of rampant austerity, there will be no more money available for ordinary people to spend on your business to build your wealth. Now, your particular firm may be unaffected because the items you offer are often inexpensive (e.g., no one is going to quit buying toilet paper), but the rest of society is screwed. A liberal-controlled (i.e., slightly mitigated) banking dystopia is slightly less harmful to society than an unrestrained far-right banking dystopia. To be fair, the right-wing dystopia will benefit a small group of wealthy individuals significantly.
Libertarians often discuss how small countries, such as the US before 1913 and Hong Kong before the 1990s, became into economic powerhouses with high living standards. via tiny government. However, most libertarians are unaware of the extent to which consumer protections have benefited them. Without government controls, most people would have no idea who owns a corporation or what it does. If consumers were not required by law to know where a product was created, what it is made of, or how it was made, they would have no idea what they were purchasing, even if they wished to support American manufacturing. How would you fight back against corporations in the absence of laws and a justice system that limit what a corporation can and cannot do?
I don't mind having a social safety net, even if it raises my taxes; it means that I can basically do whatever the fuck I want (leave a job to start a business, move, etc.) and know that even if shit hits the fan, I'll be alright. Probably would require a dramatic reduction of lifestyle qualification, but nothing that couldn't be recovered from.
Libertarians often discuss how small countries, such as the US before 1913 and Hong Kong before the 1990s, became into economic powerhouses with high living standards. via tiny government. However, most libertarians are unaware of the extent to which consumer protections have benefited them. Without government controls, most people would have no idea who owns a corporation or what it does. If consumers were not required by law to know where a product was created, what it is made of, or how it was made, they would have no idea what they were purchasing, even if they wished to support American manufacturing. How would you fight back against corporations in the absence of laws and a justice system that limit what a corporation can and cannot do?
I don't mind having a social safety net, even if it raises my taxes; it means that I can basically do whatever the fuck I want (leave a job to start a business, move, etc.) and know that even if shit hits the fan, I'll be alright. Probably would require a dramatic reduction of lifestyle qualification, but nothing that couldn't be recovered from.
