Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Markets Are Usually a Good Way to Organize Economic Activity

If only this were as self-evident to everyone else as it is to me.

Look at the economies that are not organized into markets: Cuba, North Korea, the former USSR.  Not exactly places people were clamoring to get into were they?

And look at the examples here in the US: primary education is roundly, and correctly, criticized for being crappy - yet secondary education, which is organized as a market, is the best in the world.  Utilities & infrastructure are state-run monopolies (or regulated to the point that they might as well be) and continue to age, decay and not meet the lowest of expectations.

There isn't really an easy way to get where we are to a market in some of these areas, but I firmly believe that if we could get there life would be much better in many ways.

Instead we have economic illiterates clamoring for the nationalization of the oil industry and increased government interventions in everything from health care to the futures market.

If only politicians had to pass a remedial economics course before taking the oaths of office.

Technorati Tags: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment