Myths of the Free MarketAlgora Publishing, 2003 - 262 pages Myths of the Free Market is arguably the most significant book in economics and politics since John Maynard Keynes. It systematically presents a broad range of telling criticisms of free market economics, criticisms that have not been presented elsewhere. Despite our genuine faith in the free market, laissez faire has not maximized wealth. When we moved from the purer free market policies of the 1920s and early 1930s to the proto-socialism of Roosevelt, our economic growth increased. As we have moved back to a purer free market, growth has slowed. We have lagged our trading partners who have mixed economies. Nor is this new. In the late 1800s the mixed economies of Bismarck's Germany and Meiji Japan outperformed the relatively free market economies of Great Britain and France. It is worse. Even in principle, laissez faire cannot work - it is incompatible with institutions that increase wealth. Patent protection is one example, easily generalized. It is worse yet. Laissez faire promotes the excessive concentration of wealth and exposes us all to avoidable danger. Over the last millennium there has been a 200-300 year cycle of wealth dispersion. Each time wealth disparity grew beyond a critical point it presaged decline and disaster for all of society. We now have the greatest disparity of wealth in our history. Kenneth Friedman holds an MS in Physics and PhD in Philosophy of Science from MIT. He has been interviewed in Barron's and on CNBC and quoted in The Wall Street Journal. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 9 | |
| 11 | |
Laissez Faire It Cant Possibly Work | 25 |
Decline and Disaster | 37 |
The Spawn of Laissez Faire | 53 |
Why We Fall for Laissez Faire | 69 |
The Virtual Reality of Classical Economics | 79 |
Humanism and Government | 151 |
Rejecting Liberalism | 169 |
Democracy | 185 |
Prerequisities to Functional Democracy | 207 |
The Critical Role of Education | 217 |
FINALITY? | 235 |
Denouement | 237 |
| 249 | |
A New Economic Paradigm | 99 |
Appendix | 115 |
POLITY | 121 |
Values Science Reason | 123 |
Humanism | 129 |
| 255 | |
| 259 | |
Index of US Corporations | 263 |
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Common terms and phrases
act utilitarianism Adam Smith antibiotics argued average behavior beliefs benefit capital carbon dioxide CFCs characterized citizens civil claim classical economics colloidal silver competing corporations corporatism cycles decades decline democracy democratic despite disparity drug economic growth economists effect efficient elite environment environmental equations equilibrium faire financial markets free trade funds global global warming higher human Ilya Prigogine important incentive income increase independent individuals industry inflation institutions interest investment investors labor laissez laissezfaire laws less libertarianism liberties living long-term lower maximize middle class million mixed economies monetarism moral natural nonlinear nonlinear thermodynamics notion oligopoly one’s paradigm person policies political problems productivity growth profits progressive tax protect pure free market religious responsibility rich role rule utilitarianism scientific sector short-term social society standards tax rate theory trading partners utilitarianism velocity of money wealth