I advocate free markets, which necessarily means I am anti-capitalist. (And for that matter, anti-communist). I haven’t seen a definition of capitalism that does not allow for, indeed require, some sort of government intervention to maintain it. In one way free markets are free, is free from government intervention.
By no mean do free markets address all human concerns. The free market is about freedom in the market. If and when we wish to make an exchange, for goods and services, the market ought to be free: free to do so, free from force or fraud.
The phenomena of force or fraud is where advocates of government insinuate their private desires into other’s business. They offer protection, or more likely, the masses clamor for this intervention. But it is not legitimate, because our freedom is a natural right, inalienable, and we cannot give it up nor have it take away. In the measure we do so is the measure we decline to live our lives.
Force or fraud are non-market events, but they in some instances can be dealt with in market means. For example, I may buy insurance against fraud, or hire private contractors to protect me against force or hire an arbitrator should I get in a dispute. When you reckon private vs government provision of safety and security, by far private enterprise provides the build in USA. 70% of the firefighters in USA are unpaid, volunteer.
But the most effective defense against non-market phenomenom of force or fraud is the non-market phenomemom of shunning. Peoples reputations matter. If your actions cause people to shun you, then that is a non-market sanction that is felt in the market. From the lowest criminal to Adolf Hitler, they all worry about what other people think.
There are non-market events that may consume much of our lives: love and religion. Now both lend themselves rather easily to commercialization, but in general these important human pursuits are not market phenomena.
Free markets are based on subjective valuations. Certain conditons, like justice or love, cannot be achieved in the market, in spite of their purely subjective nature.
Although a free market is the best response in a disaster, with its pitch perfect response of pricing scarce resources (what martinets call “price gouging”) a free market does not offer charity, which is often the only response possible, and a necessary response.
Altruism offers charity, but that is not a market phenomenom. We see where markets are freest, such as Hong Kong, charitable contribution is second to none.
Economists tend to see the entire world in term of economics, all phenomena explainable by their theories and formula, and all can be managed, as though economics is sociology. The word economics comes from the Greek to mean manage the household. Managing a household is often abut daily commercial exchanges, but there is much more to a home than what gets bought or sold. The free market is about markets, buying and selling, rather mundane matters, yet where freedom is crucial. This commerce is what we do, a lifestyle, but a rather small part of being alive. This larger more important part of life - who you love, what you think, what you believe, who you take care of, I think just about everyone agrees govt ought not tread there. And if not there, why in the market?
Economists tend to see the entire world in term of economics, all phenomena explainable by their theories and formula, and all can be managed, as though economics is sociology. The word economics comes from the Greek to mean manage the household. Managing a household is often abut daily commercial exchanges, but there is much more to a home than what gets bought or sold. The free market is about markets, buying and selling, rather mundane matters, yet where freedom is crucial. This commerce is what we do, a lifestyle, but a rather small part of being alive. This larger more important part of life - who you love, what you think, what you believe, who you take care of, I think just about everyone agrees govt ought not tread there. And if not there, why in the market?
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