Any human institution is run by fallible humans, and so is itself fallible. That includes corporations, or even more generally "the market". But it also includes politicians and regulators.
"If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?"
— Frédéric Bastiat, from "The Law"
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Politicians and regulators face the checks of 1 - Other politicians and regulators opposing them, and 2 - Elections (directly eliminating the politicians from office, and indirectly eliminating the top regulators, the ones that are political appointees), and 3 - Violent resistance or overthrow of the government (which is typically only an important check, when their are no free and fair elections to peacefully replace the politicians.
Corporations, speculators, etc. face the check of competitors and of market disciple.
In the majority of cases when your dealing with production, distribution etc. of goods and services, the market is both a more efficent check, and one that allows for more individual freedom.
Which is not to say that no economic decision should ever be politically made or influenced, only that there should be a lot of skepticism behind any proposed intervention, barrier, bailout, subsidy, targeted tax, etc. |
