OT Richard, you are absolutely right. Socialism, and other misguided attempts to defy market forces, are doomed to failure over time. Unintended and perverse consequences of such policies are unfortunately typical. For example, rent control prevents the construction of new housing stock (supply), yet demand for housing marches on, so the price of housing stays artificially high--the price is actually PREVENTED from falling, by a misguided policy intended to reduce housing costs for the people. Minimum wage laws distort the natural labor market, and merely reallocate wage dollars from the now unnecessarily-unemployed to the now marginally better-paid employed. So a law intended to help the laborer perversely creates additional unemployment. This is the "dead hand of regulation" at work. It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.
Marx promoted socialism from a then-popular viewpoint that man was inherently good, charitable, giving--he believed that we only needed to set up a socialist society to bring these innate qualities out in all citizens. OK, we've had many socialist experiments since then, and they have provided no evidence of man's innate goodness, in fact just the opposite.
On the other hand, Adam Smith started from the richly-supported assumption that man is inherently greedy, and he promoted capitalism since it efficiently harnessed the many lesser evils (individual greed) to the greater social good. Capitalism hasn't been a perfect experiment, but it just blows the socialist model out of the water. Even Albania eventually caught on. Earth to Castro.
John |
