Free market means voluntary exchange without coercion


Setting the record straight
One thing that keeps alarming me is people's idea of what the free market is.

It's the way they have been taught. Company bribes government official or makes ""campaign contributions," company gets special consideration and a leg up over the competition.

Or if the company or owners are politically connected, the company gets benefits that aren't available to any other company.

You know, like just happened with Chrysler. Even though Ford managed to resurrect itself without government "help," there is no doubt that Chrysler (and probably GM) will have a competitive advantage sanctioned and protected by the Federal government.

That is NOT the free market. It happened with government intervention. Government officials goosed the laws and regulations to bring about a specific outcome, even though that outcome was economically disastrous.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is mercantilism. Basically it's union between commercial and government interests.

The only thing that history shows is more dangerous is the union between religious and government interests.

When an industry is "in the national interest," that's mercantilism.

When a company is "too big to fail," that is mercantilism.

When something is "vital to the economy," that is mercantilism.

For a company, the advantage of getting the government involved is that all the competition can be pushed aside by force. For the government, it gets to control part of the economy. Well, not really, but it believes that it does.

Mercantilism means that the government does the dirty work, the company gets the profits, and the politicos get the bribes and power. That has been called free market economics, but it really isn't.

When people are disgusted by what passes as free market economics in modern Western society, chances are they've never experienced the free market.

A free market is the voluntary exchange of goods and services without coercion.

That also means without regulation. Can you think of an economic exchange in the last century that happened without government regulation?

That is a pretty important idea. It's toppled governments. Wars have been started over less. Four simple words and it's enough to threaten Presidents and armies and massive international corporations. Very powerful people have spend decades trying to convince you that free markets NEED to be controlled.

Voluntary exchange without coercion.

Why are they afraid?

Because their system of mercantilism can't withstand the competition. It has to be defended from free choice.

YOUR choice.

Otherwise it shatters into a million pieces.

Their power and fortunes depend on you buying into a lie and paying dearly for the privilege. So when the elites tell you it was a failure of the free market, ask if it really was a free market to begin with.

Was it voluntary exchange without coercion? Without regulation? Without "protection?" Did you have alternatives? Could you have walked away and not bought anything today?

The free market means voluntary exchange without coercion.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Mon - May 11, 2009 at 02:07 PM  Tag


 ◊  ◊   ◊  ◊ 

Random selections from NeoWayland's library


Pagan Vigil "Because LIBERTY demands more than just black or white"
© 2005 - 2009 All Rights Reserved