We must stop playing the politics of free market, statism (and socialism)

We must stop playing the politics
of free market, statism (and socialism)

Nipawin - February 18, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis

economic
and social
failures
Yesterday I read the article "Oh Canada⁽¹⁾" by Adam Young and I found it extremely

interesting in pointing out Canada's economic and social failures over the last thirty years.

Young is quite right in identifying our social and economic decadence and in this respect

he refers to three decades ago when Canada was second only to the United States among

the G7⁽²⁾ economies in per-capita income. Now Canada is 18th amongst the 27-member

OECD--behind Italy and even Ireland⁽³⁾.

UN love
for Canada
Young goes on to say how ridiculous the United Nations (UN) is in proclaiming Canada,

year after year, "The best Place In The World To Live" and concludes that this complimentary

periodic remarks reflect the UN love for Canada because the two so resemble each other in

support of every left-wing issue that comes along, but also perhaps because the UN is an

avowed opponent of the free market, and statism appears to be secure in Canada for the

foreseeable future.

disagree
It is here that I fundamentally disagree with Young. Again and again our political and

economic lobbying agencies play the dichotomy of a "free market" versus "statism" (and

socialism). Free market being an economy free from governmental intervention, and statism

being a kind of paternalistic and elitist economy.

no such
a thing
There is no such a thing as a "free market" economy, and yes there is statism, and our

Canadian statism has eroded the social and economic texture of Canada and this state of

affairs has been recently well portrayed by the Auditor General of Canada⁽⁴⁾.

creativity
As I am concerned, what is very important in recognizing the social and economic strength of

a society is its entrepreneurship in releasing the creativity of people so that wealth can be

created and sustained for all the people. This entrepreneurship is not intrinsically dependent

on the degree of governmental intervention as measured by the level of people's taxation or

governmental intervention⁽⁵⁾.

divisive
Therefore, we must stop playing the politics of free market, statism (and socialism). This kind

of politics is intrinsically divisive and we should just play the politics of individual and collective

entrepreneurship, yes such entrepreneurship coexist if we can only learn to see beyond our own

backyard, and ensure that we have governments of, by, and for the people.

------------References/endnotes:

List of relevant political and economics articles http://ensign.ftlcomm.com

1.
-
CANADA MORALLY SUPERIOR TO USA ?, http://www.bourque.org/recent17.html Article "Oh Canada!, by Adam Young, February 13, 2001 http://www.mises.org/

2.
-
From G7 to G8, University of Toronto Library and the G8 Research Group at the University of Toronto http://www.library.utoronto.ca/g7/what_is_g7.html

3.
-
GDP per capita, 1999 at current prices, in US dollars, Organization for Economic Cooperation and development (OECD)

4.
-
-
-
December 2000 Report of the Auditor General of Canada, Denis Desautels, Auditor general of Canada http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/media.nsf/html/00decs_e.html The final report entitled "Reflections on a Decade of Serving Parliament" is expected to be tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 27 February 2001

5.
-
-
-
Why We Don't Have to Choose between Social Justice and Economic Growth: The myth of the equity/efficiency trade-off, by Andrew Jackson, Director of Research, Canadian Council on Social Development, Fall 2000 http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2000/equity/ Also refer to MacLean's Economic Policy Page, by Brian MacLeans, December 16 2000 update http://www.geocities.com/brian79/

We must stop playing the politics of free market, statism (and socialism)

Nipawin - February 18, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis

economic and social failures	Yesterday I read the article "Oh Canada⁽¹⁾" by Adam Young and I found it extremely
	interesting in pointing out Canada's economic and social failures over the last thirty years.
	Young is quite right in identifying our social and economic decadence and in this respect
	he refers to three decades ago when Canada was second only to the United States among
	the G7⁽²⁾ economies in per-capita income. Now Canada is 18th amongst the 27-member
	OECD--behind Italy and even Ireland⁽³⁾.

UN love for Canada	Young goes on to say how ridiculous the United Nations (UN) is in proclaiming Canada,
	year after year, "The best Place In The World To Live" and concludes that this complimentary
	periodic remarks reflect the UN love for Canada because the two so resemble each other in
	support of every left-wing issue that comes along, but also perhaps because the UN is an
	avowed opponent of the free market, and statism appears to be secure in Canada for the
	foreseeable future.

disagree	It is here that I fundamentally disagree with Young. Again and again our political and
	economic lobbying agencies play the dichotomy of a "free market" versus "statism" (and
	socialism). Free market being an economy free from governmental intervention, and statism
	being a kind of paternalistic and elitist economy.

no such a thing	There is no such a thing as a "free market" economy, and yes there is statism, and our
	Canadian statism has eroded the social and economic texture of Canada and this state of
	affairs has been recently well portrayed by the Auditor General of Canada⁽⁴⁾.

creativity	As I am concerned, what is very important in recognizing the social and economic strength of
	a society is its entrepreneurship in releasing the creativity of people so that wealth can be
	created and sustained for all the people. This entrepreneurship is not intrinsically dependent
	on the degree of governmental intervention as measured by the level of people's taxation or
	governmental intervention⁽⁵⁾.

divisive	Therefore, we must stop playing the politics of free market, statism (and socialism). This kind
	of politics is intrinsically divisive and we should just play the politics of individual and collective
	entrepreneurship, yes such entrepreneurship coexist if we can only learn to see beyond our own
	backyard, and ensure that we have governments of, by, and for the people.

------------References/endnotes:

	List of relevant political and economics articles http://ensign.ftlcomm.com

1. -	CANADA MORALLY SUPERIOR TO USA ?, http://www.bourque.org/recent17.html Article "Oh Canada!, by Adam Young, February 13, 2001 http://www.mises.org/

2. -	From G7 to G8, University of Toronto Library and the G8 Research Group at the University of Toronto http://www.library.utoronto.ca/g7/what_is_g7.html

3. -	GDP per capita, 1999 at current prices, in US dollars, Organization for Economic Cooperation and development (OECD)

4. - - -	December 2000 Report of the Auditor General of Canada, Denis Desautels, Auditor general of Canada http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/media.nsf/html/00decs_e.html The final report entitled "Reflections on a Decade of Serving Parliament" is expected to be tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 27 February 2001

5. - - -	Why We Don't Have to Choose between Social Justice and Economic Growth: The myth of the equity/efficiency trade-off, by Andrew Jackson, Director of Research, Canadian Council on Social Development, Fall 2000 http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2000/equity/ Also refer to MacLean's Economic Policy Page, by Brian MacLeans, December 16 2000 update http://www.geocities.com/brian79/