Capitalisn’t

Capitalism is under attack these days from the centrally planned and corporatist left wing.  It’s also under attack from the crony capitalist corporatist right wing.  Socialism has always been at odds with capitalism.  The rise of socialism on the left in the US detests capitalism.  For a flavor of what it looks like, just read Bernie Sanders policy page.  I agree with Professor Luigi Zingales of the Stigler Institute that we need to recapture our love for capitalism in the United States.  Otherwise, we will lose it.  Zingales grew up in Italy where crony capitalism reigns.

There are policies and movements from both the left and right that undermine free market competitive capitalism.  All you have to do is look at my home state of Illinois to see how both sides can get together to undermine free markets.  The current governor isn’t doing anything to bring free market capitalism back.  In fact, he is going deeper into the centrally planned limiting choice and freedom side.  It will be terrible for the residents.

Much of the strife today comes down to people wanting open competition, and others trying to stay the course or shut it down.  Even people that prefer open competition will argue on the correct policies to get there.

I don’t think that Trump fits neatly in any camp-not even the Populists.  He is an enigma that shoots from the hip.  Sometimes his instincts are totally correct and would support the free market, sometimes they don’t.  Obama probably fit better in the Establishment/European camp.  Populism has been made out to be a force for bad, but in America, we have a long history of populism that can be a force for good if we understand it.

Topics similar to these are what they discuss at the podcast, Capitalisn’t.  What I like, is they present both views on issues and delve into it. They allow the listener to cogitate and develop their opinion based on the discussion that ensued in the podcast.  To be clear, the underlying assumption is that having free market capitalism is the best for all involved.  However, getting there can be very difficult because of negative externalities or other reasons.  If you read my blog posts on the topics of regulating Big Tech and Data, you would understand that these issues are not cut and dried or black and white.   They are hard and take time to really understand and sift through.  Working groups are better than one person.  Those groups ought to have pretty diverse experiences and biases.

To give you a flavor of what the podcast is like, I am linking three podcasts on the same topic all from different perspectives to listen to.  They are on antitrust.  Antitrust has been used in the US to break up big companies and stop mergers from happening.  However, I don’t think most people understand why it’s important and what it means to break up or stop companies from combining.

Being for antitrust doesn’t mean being against big companies per se.

Here is link one which talks about “The Establishment”

Here is link two, which talks about “The Populists”

Here is link three which talks about “The Europeans”

If you listen to them, you should be able to come up with your own opinion on antitrust in the US and how it should be utilized to engender competitive markets and capitalism.  I listened to each of them.  There are salient points that will cause you to think.  For example, are the Europeans just anti-American in the way they mete out antitrust justice?  You never see them assess big fines to large European conglomerates.

What about the new Brandeis theory on antitrust?   Because we have been so focused on economics have we missed something in the US?

Drove up to Grand Marais, Minnesota Saturday to open up my place after flying home from New Orleans on Friday. What the heck, it’s still brisk and very cold in Chicago.  Not a lot of difference between Chicago and Canada right now.  Maybe we need more CO2? : )  We put out the bird feeders, kayaks, and furniture, need to fix the dock and launch the boat.  The walleye are spawning.  Our “ice out” on our lake was around May 15.  Time to split some cedar for kindling since we will need some fires.  I will be back in Chicago on June 1.