[OT] Dry writers and economic systems

[David K. Trudgett]

On Monday 2003-02-24 at 20:56:52 -0500, Lulu of the Lotus-Eaters wrote:

> Steve Holden wrote:
> > I often wonder whether socialism might not have been more popular if
> > it had been presented in less ponderous (not to say turgid) prose.
> 
> Alex Martelli <aleax at aleax.it> wrote previously:
> |Capitalism did survive despite the turgid prose of Von Mises, no?-)
> 
> I would say that capitalism DID NOT survive Von Mises.  Every existing
> national economy--including (or especially) those that most tout
> capitalism--have substantial state involvement in corporate affairs.
> For the most part, these amount to providing a "safety net" for the
> super-rich; but all aspects of regulation, infrastructure, IP
> protection, tariffs, tax subsidies of sectors, and just plain government
> spending, contradict Von Mises notion of what a capitalist economy would
> be.  In fact, state sectors are larger, as GDP percentage, in the most
> ideologically capitalist countries than they were in the formerly-
> existing or still-existing socialist nations.

Quite right! The idea that the great majority of people, even
economists, have of "capitalism" is one of the great, almost
inexplicable myths enduring into the 21st century. It really is a case
of the emperor's new clothes. Perhaps people just continue to call it
"capitalism" to avoid creating undue alarm. Who knows?


David