" A pretty good piece, Mr. Krugman. It embodies the views supporting it very well – that the purpose of any humanly engineered framework (such as markets, governments) is to improve the lot of man irrespective of individual efforts.
Don’t get me wrong: while I disagree with the underlying premise, it certainly is a legitimate view to hold, and is held by many.But it’s wrong. At least for America.We start from very different premises.
To me, the purpose of government is NOT to tell me what I must do but what I must not do (for the benefit of all, or at least the great majority). It’s up to me to improve my own lot and, to the extent that my abilities and character permit, to improve the lot of man.
I work within a framework of law that tries to keep me honest and seeks to protect others from my possible predations.To you, the purpose of any such framework is to advance the material well-being of people. Sounds great, but it’s never worked – nothing planned and acted on by anything other than individuals ever has. Beyond that, it’s dreadfully condescending – in that world people are incapable of transcending difficulties and natural challenges through hard work, risk-taking and guts, and coming out the other side as winners in life; they require organized help from a paternalistic system, a market that’s gerry rigged to try to guarantee an outcome that some believe is good. So, while I acknowledge your premise I disagree with it.
The “Market Mystique” is not invalid because it occasionally fails without appropriate controls, and that’s bad because markets have as their purpose some social good. They don’t. They’re merely mechanisms that allow people to do what they want to do – it’s people who either embrace social advance or don’t and through their own actions validate themselves or don’t.
So, by all means, re-regulate those markets to limit potential for catastrophic failure. But stop thinking that they’re the answer to poverty, disease and the failings of the human spirit.
Stop begging! Work hard!
No matter. Just keep writing...
" ...If Singaporeans share no idealism except the logic of the free market, we will sell our citizenships to the highest bidder, the country that can accord us the better standard of life... "
The Online Citizen.And why not! (In a moment of despair...)
06 April 2009
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