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To: mcg404 who wrote (43621)	12/18/2003 7:41:34 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

The world is not running a test that free markets are not the best way to organize human economic activity. The world has come to realize that there's a lot of nice words and concepts that look very nice on paper, but in reality they are not practiced. You know, the idea that "democracy" is a condition sine qua non for economic development, as India democracy shows us. Free market -this one I have to hold my laugh any time I hear this kind of fairy tale. When tariffs are slapped left and right. Look to Singapore how they developed. Look to S. Korea, Taiwan and to China right now. The develping countries have to throw in the toilet and flush all those concepts and press ahead. Oh, by the way, the script written, a.k.a Breton Woods agreement, was made to the detriment of 80% of the world population also is no longer valid. These are interesting times. History being made right in front of our eyes. Nice to be here to watch and occasionaly laugh about the whole construct falling into pieces. And the nice thing about is: There is no alternative nor turning back.

To: mcg404 who wrote (43621)	12/18/2003 10:12:02 PM
From: AC Flyer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

>>except that i'm afraid you are are using 'human economic activity' and 'wealth' as synonyms for 'society' and 'well-being'<< Did I say that? I don't think so. Nevertheless, since you broached the subject, I do believe that by and large, economic development is the primary answer, the sine qua non to quote elmat, to all of mankind's ills. Why? It is only when a society has the ability to produce more than it consumes - i.e to generate surplus resources - that some of the broader commons-type issues get addressed. No-one worries about clean air until they are regularly getting enough to eat. You used the idiom, "I'm afraid...." in your post which means you are probably a Brit. When I immigrated to the US, it took me several years to lose the habit of saying "I'm sorry" in a situation where an American would say "excuse me". The invariable response to "I'm sorry" was "don't be sorry," which pissed me off no end. The point? If you are in fact a Brit you carry a lot of pseudo-socialist psychological baggage that you are largely unaware of, of the "money can't buy you happiness" variety. This is intrinsic to the "all pigs are equal" socialist Euro-economic culture. I strongly suggest that money can in fact buy happiness, on both an individual and societal level. What money can not do, however, is substitute for personal and moral deficits. It takes more than money to fill those kinds of holes.