The Korean peninsula demonstrates the fundamental differences between free and fettered markets. As always, there are the free market's obvious attributes of prosperity and democracy. However as recent events have shown, peace should not be overlooked. And just as importantly, neither should its proper attribution to a free market.
In one relatively small section of the world, the stark differences between the world's most important dichotomy is clearly visible. In South Korea, a capitalist market, open society, and democracy exist. In North Korea, a closed market, closed society, and totalitarian regime exist. You also have a stark distinction between peace and war.
Perhaps capitalism's most overlooked attribute is peace. Virtually all conflicts of the last century have been initiated by fettered market, authoritarian states. Often the world's armed conflicts have been between two such regimes. Contrastingly, military conflicts have almost never pitted two capitalist, democratic nations against one another.
Socialist, communist, fascist, or simply non-ideological dictator-governed nations have almost always been the world's aggressors. When capitalist democracies are drawn into armed conflict, it is almost always against such economically-fettered nations.
The reason for states' predilection to war or peace goes back to their underlying economic systems. To fully appreciate it, we must understand the economics motivating each.
Capitalist countries find war a last resort. War is both expensive and wasteful. It is these states' worst economic investment -- diverting their resources from productive uses to an unproductive one.
Virtually any alternative to war is a better investment for a capitalist nation. War only becomes plausible when the failure to meet military aggression sets the stage for even greater long-term costs -- continued aggression that will inevitably be even more costly than short-term resistance to it. If the calculation is simply between conflict and non-conflict, the latter is the cheaper and therefore preferable alternative.
In economics, cost is the return from an alternative use of a resource. Thus for a capitalist nation, the opportunity cost of war is excessive.
The economic calculation of war is just the opposite for the fettered market nation. The opportunity cost of war to such a nation is less. By definition, their economy is already operating on a suboptimal allocation of its resources. North Korea is the extreme example. Its economy is so bad that conflict is actually its best economic investment.
However, even if the extreme case is not the point of comparison, the difference in the opportunity costs of conflict between a free and a fettered market nation is significant.
Another aspect of a free market is the fact that it is likely to produce a free society and government, while a fettered economy can produce neither.
Both Milton Friedman and Frederick Hayek underscored this essential difference due to differing economic systems. Friedman stated: ""¦[W]e know of no society that has ever achieved prosperity and freedom unless voluntary exchange has been its dominant principle of organization. We hasten to add that voluntary exchange is not a sufficient condition for prosperity and freedom"¦Many societies organized predominantly by voluntary exchange have not achieved either prosperity or freedom, though they have achieved a far greater measure of both than authoritarian societies. But voluntary exchange is a necessary condition for both prosperity and freedom."
Hayek made the same point: "The free market is the only mechanism that has ever been discovered for achieving participatory democracy."
The reverse is equally true. Where a fettered market exists, a fettered people are sure to as well. A person who is not allowed to own private property, is not truly free himself. A people who can own property and dispose of it freely, will forever be a check on a state's attempt to monopolize power.
The result is that fettered markets produce governing systems that make going to war not only less economically unappealing, they also produce political systems with fewer means to stop the government from acting on its diminished economic disincentive to conflict. Dictators can take their nations into war with relative ease and then keep them in such a conflict for relatively longer periods of time.
With democracies, again, the case is just the opposite. Going to war requires near political unanimity and that unanimity is continually being reevaluated as a war continues.
Capitalism is frequently credited with only the most prosaic of goals and ends in society. In fact, it is really the protector of society's most sublime goals. In other societies, peace and prosperity are uncommon occurrences, happening in contradiction to their economies and their resulting political systems. In capitalism, peace and prosperity are its defining attributes. They are overlooked precisely because they have become commonplace to those of us fortunate enough to reside in such an economic-political system.
Letter to the Editor
J.T. Young served in the Department of Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget from 2001 to 2004 and as a Congressional staff member from 1987 to 2000.
Maybe we can divide this country up equally between the Liberals and Conservatives?
The Liberal half (call it "Liberalia") can govern themselves with a "living and breathing Constitution", and Obama can be their "El Presidente". The Conservative half ("Conservativia"?) will choose to adopt the original Constitution as it's governing document.
Inside of 5 years, half the knuckle-head Liberals who opted for Utopia will be trying to illegally cross the border to a better life in Conservativia.
Worse luck for them - Conservativia takes border security VERY seriously!
After a shower and a box lunch (care of President Palin), we'll give them a small, hand-held copy of the original Constitution, and send them on their way BACK to Utopia.
Look at an electoral map, the country is already carved up.
Yeah and I'm stuck on the wrong side thanks to the liberal Kalifornia idiots.
Hi
Oh, here we go again with the YAY CAPITALISM crap. Sad.
We ALL see the pyramid scheme symbol on the back of the USA one dollar bill. We ALL see the servitude infestation in capitalism. We ALL see the "pay up or lose your wellbeing" Chicago mob-like felony extortion widespread within capitalism. We ALL see the "join or starve" felony extortion done to the 18 year olds... by this ugly competer's church called capitalism. We ALL see how forcing competer's religions onto 18 year olds, and/or LURING them into it with bling-dangling and promises of empowerments... kills membership in the cooperator's church (Christianity/socialism). We ALL understand that AmWay (American Way) (New World Order) got "the exclusive" (legal tender) on the TYPE of survival coupons (money) accepted in supply depots (stores) and leverages 18 year olds into the organization via that felony activity. (It puts AmWay-coupon slaving requirements called price tags... on all the survival goods). We ALL understand how sure-to-collapse farmyard pyramids work... from our childhoods. Upper 1/3 are "heads in the clouds" while the kids on the bottom ALWAYS GET HURT from the weight of the world's knees in their backs. And, we ALL see how such systems are illegal, immoral, and just plain sick.
We American Christian socialists are patiently awaiting the natural fall of the pyramid-o-servitude, or the busting of the free marketeers felony... by the USA Dept of Justice. We Christians are VERY CLOSE to issuing a cease and desist order until the servitude and inequality goes away... which means it turns into a commune. Commune is a word we LOVE when used in the word "community"... but its one the caps HATE when used in the word "commune-ism". Go fig. PROGRAMMED!!
Do a Google IMAGE SEARCH for 'pyramid of capitalist' to see a full color picture made way back in 1911, when capitalism was first discovered to be a con/sham instigated by the Free Masons/Illuminati. Folks sure bought into the thing... hook, line, and sinker just the same. The caps didn't even check if a string was attached! Now THAT'S easy fishing, eh?
Time to level the felony pyramid scheme called capitalism. Abolish economies and ownershipism worldwide, and hurry. Economies just cause rat-racing, and rat-racing causes felony pyramiding. BUST IT, America! Look to the USA military supply/survival system... (and the USA public library system) for socialism and morals done right. Equal, owner-less, money-less, bill-less, timecard-less, and concerned with growth of value-criteria OTHER THAN money-value. Quit doing monetary discrimination immediately, and make it illegal. There are MANY measurement criteria of "value"... not just dollars. Try morals, efficiency, discrimination-levels, repairability, etc etc. Economies are cancerous tumors, and to cheer for their growth... is just insane. Profiting causes inflation, so if caps LIKE inflation, and if they LIKE a terrible time in afterlife when they meet the planet's ORIGINAL OWNER before caps tried to squat it all with ownershipism, then keep it up with the felony pyramiding. I dare you. While us Christians are finally bulldozing that pyramid scheme back to level, lets make servitude and "join or starve" (get a job or die) illegal in the USA, and lets level the architecture seen in USA courtrooms, too. Right now, USA courtrooms are church simulators or "fear chambers", by special design. Sick.
Isn't that back-of-the-dollar pyramid... a Columbian freemason symbol? And WHERE is the USA gov located? District of Columbia? (Not even part of the USA!) How much more blatant can ya get? The "Fed" runs a pyramid scheme called the free marketeers. If you're using the "federal reserve note" certificates, or using no-other-living-thing-on-the-planet entitles of ownership, you're bought into a servitude/slavery con/sham... called capitalism. Pyramiding 101.
Larry "Wingnut" Wendlandt MaStars - Mothers Against Stuff That Ain't Right (anti-capitalism-ists) Bessemer MI USA
Larry, you left out the most important words that's printed, "stamped,' on our currency: In God We Trust (All Others Pay Cash!)
Larry has been drinking too much fluoridated water mixed with grain alcohol.
Dear Alan:
Apparently Larry has not been drinking pure grain alcohol---thus, he has messed with his precious bodily fluids.
Wingnut, you have chosen the most appropriate name for yourself I have seen.... But catch a clue, if you ever get true socialism you can kiss your religion good bye. Just go back into the basement and fire up another one.
Wingnut, Thank you!
Other than Booger's masterpieces, that was the best thorough-going satire I have read here at TAS.
I began laughing during the first sentence, and I am still wiping the tears of laughter out of my eyes.
Again, thank you.
South Korea is a toilet. Pyongyang is one of the world's most beautiful cities.
Ahhh, this is a personal bashing site. I thought someone was talking about economies, capitalism, and social orders. Nevermind. Lynch away.
Peace? Are you completely delusional or just terminally stupid? Capitalism rakes in more profit from war and death than anything else on its menu of scams, extortion, oppression and exploitation.
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