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Free Markets - the biggest wealth creation engine known to man. The most impressive and amazing reversal of fortune I've personally lived through was the switc
by nickpp 4y ago
Free Markets - the biggest wealth creation engine known to man.
The most impressive and amazing reversal of fortune I've personally lived through was the switch from planned economy to free markets which took place in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism. You could even predict the degree of improvement or the trajectory of a country by the percent of the free market reforms vs protectionism left in place.
Of course, free markets require rule of law, so countries with a justice system controlled by an aristocratic class, clergy, dictator or political class will fail to acquire said free markets.
And reversely, the more populist politicians will get socialist policies voted through, policies which control, retard and corrupt the markets - the more their countries will slow down and be left behind. Case to the point - most Western European countries - after becoming incredibly wealthy after starting from scratch at the end of WWII to being left behind by the IT/computer revolution and becoming dependent on the cheap energy provided by a malevolent, war-mongering fading ex-superpower.
But why are free markets such an amazing success? Because they're the only mechanism which aligns and harness the humans' natural individual desire to improve one's station to drive and fuel the improvement of the whole society. A simple concept like "if each individual is allowed to decide and do whatever is best for her (and keep most of the result) then everybody will benefit" became such an subversive idea that dictators everywhere are still trying their best to extinguish it.
- mdp2021 4y ago> to being left behind by the IT/computer revolution And you suppose it happened because of internal market pollution?
- nickpp 4y agoLabor market in Western Europe became so corrupted by leftist policies after the mid-20th century that it became basically anti-business. This affected startups the most, since businesses are most vulnerable in their startup phase. And the IT industry (unlike other old industries) was built almost exclusively by startups... Current idiotic policies (GDPR, USB-C charging) are just nails in the coffin on the inexistent European IT industry. The second necessary component was capital. Financial markets in Europe were heavily regulated and taxed, with investing and especially angel investing actively discouraged. The third component: universities were available in Europe as well. But without the first two parts the best and brightest europeans went to Silicon Valley to help build the US IT industry. Because the immigration policy (the final component) was significantly more open in the USA as well...