Friday, November 21, 2008 7:38:29 AM
"the one which allows each individual to decide what is best as an independent economic actor [...] or the one in which the lord tells the serfs what's best for them and tries to enforce everything through fiat only to find the serfs cheat on him when he's not looking."
the former is more crass
while free markets are great, everyone acting in his or her own best interest, competitively. but we're in the vicious cycle here: everyone acting in his or her own best interests means everyone trying to throw each other into the abyss so that they themselves can be the last standing. if government has a role, it is to step in now and do whats best for the common good, perhaps at the expense of what is best for fair the various players.
"serfs cheat on him when he's not looking" perfectly describes the bubble as well as its aftermath. that is the universal constant, in both your scenarios, in good times and bad.
that said, even government has to try to be efficient and effective. just throwing money at the automakers isn't a solution unless they are willing to recognize this as a unique opportunity and take advantage of it to restructure. the latter isn't gonna happen until all the players recognize that failure is catastrophic: maybe it is, but congress isn't the only one that should be panicked into action by that; the UAW and the automakers should also.
the former is more crass
while free markets are great, everyone acting in his or her own best interest, competitively. but we're in the vicious cycle here: everyone acting in his or her own best interests means everyone trying to throw each other into the abyss so that they themselves can be the last standing. if government has a role, it is to step in now and do whats best for the common good, perhaps at the expense of what is best for fair the various players. "serfs cheat on him when he's not looking" perfectly describes the bubble as well as its aftermath. that is the universal constant, in both your scenarios, in good times and bad.
that said, even government has to try to be efficient and effective. just throwing money at the automakers isn't a solution unless they are willing to recognize this as a unique opportunity and take advantage of it to restructure. the latter isn't gonna happen until all the players recognize that failure is catastrophic: maybe it is, but congress isn't the only one that should be panicked into action by that; the UAW and the automakers should also.
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