One of the most common responses I get when trying
to discuss free market ideas is, “Yeah, but Republican suck!” There’s
no question that they suck, all politicians do, but what does that have
to do with anything? I get the distinct impression that people think
that someone who believes in free market approaches are just in it for
the money and power. That might be the case for some people, but I can
assure you that the people that are really involved in the study and
popularization of free market ideas are doing it because of the
benefits it gives everyone, rich and poor alike. They are also the only
ones with a good idea about how to continue the raising of the
standards of living for everyone. Most people seem to confuse economics
with politics. Politics is the realm of back scratching, log rolling,
and general underhandedness. Economics is the study of market forces
and their impact on decision making at al levels of human
interaction. There’s a big difference and it was a big insight
for me to realize that the two things were not necessairly related.
This was popularized by the charecter of the president in “West Wing”.
He was a Catholic, free market liberal democrat. If you watch the show,
you’ll see that he believes that free mrkets and free trade are the
best way to achieve the humanitarian goals that he has. Most of your
serious free market people believe the same thing.
Isaac