A couple of months ago, I discussed a column by Arthur Brooks, in which he explained that libertarians and conservatives need to make a moral argument for capitalism and not just rely on statistics and economic analysis.
This is correct, I believe, and I cited myself as an example. When the flat tax became an issue in the 1990s, I gave lots of speeches, and I pontificated about lower marginal tax rates and getting rid of double taxation. I quickly learned, though, that people were most excited about getting rid of the corruption in the current system.
Brooks now makes his case for the morality of capitalism in a new video.
A superb job. His insights on earned success are very important. Indeed, this is why the dependency culture is misguided for both taxpayers and recipients.
And it’s also why I try to stress that bloated government is basically a racket that either allows people to obtain unearned benefits or makes it harder for people to achieve earned success.
P.S. Brooks also is more than capable of making traditional economic arguments, as you can see from what he wrote about Europe’s collapsing welfare states.
P.P.S. And he has produced some first-rate research on the loss of ethics in Europe compared to the United States.
[…] There’s also a moral argument presented in this video from the American Enterprise Institute. […]
[…] There’s also a moral argument presented in this video from the American Enterprise Institute. […]
Getting rich is not the result of saving, or “thrift”; many very penurious people are
poor, while free spenders often get rich.
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[…] There’s also a moral argument presented in this video from the American Enterprise Institute. […]
[…] There’s also a moral argument presented in this video from the American Enterprise Institute. […]
[…] The Moral Case for Free Enterprise […]
[…] There’s also a moral argument presented in this video from the American Enterprise Institute. […]
[…] The Moral Case for Free Enterprise — Moral arguments trump economic arguments. Watch the vid clip to understand the moral reasons for free enterprise. … libertarians and conservatives need to make a moral argument for capitalism and not just rely on statistics and economic analysis. When the flat tax became an issue in the 1990s, I pontificated about lower marginal tax rates and getting rid of double taxation. I quickly learned, though, that people were most excited about getting rid of the corruption in the current system. […]
This is not so much “the moral case” as three moral cases.
Brooks starts with an argument from the psychology of happiness, then adds classical arguments from Locke and from the utilitarians.
To which i’d like to add a fourth argument: the less free the economy, the greater the power of the ruling class. Therefore, unless you happen to be a member of the ruling class, it is in your class interest to liberalize the economy.
Call this the Marxist case for free markets (!)
[…] The Moral Case for Free Enterprise […]
Ayn Rand made the moral case over 50 years ago. In excruciating detail.
She said things wouldn’t change until we unloaded our current moral standard of altruism.
Since that has been the standard for about 2,000 years, and since both conservative and “liberals” adhere to that standard, good luck with that!