Part of my job at the Cato Institute is to educate people about free markets and fiscal policy.
In some cases, that means providing information and analysis to those already sympathetic to limited government. There are many people who like the idea of lower tax burdens, for instance, but they may not have given much thought to the interaction of tax rates, taxable income, and tax revenue, so that’s why I put together my Laffer Curve tutorial and why I wrote about this amazing data from the Reagan tax cuts.
The harder part of my job is reaching people with statist instincts. I wrote a post last week mocking an absurd example of Swedish egalitarianism, but I included some serious thoughts about why some people oppose liberty. How do I reach those people, especially when there’s some very interesting evidence showing fundamental differences in how liberals, conservatives, and libertarians see the world?
I don’t have a single answer to that question. Sometimes I use the utilitarian approach and show how capitalist nations outperform statist nations, as you can see in this comparison of North Korea and South Korea, and this post comparing Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela.
In other cases, I try a philosophical approach, one example of which is this video arguing against majoritarianism.
And sometimes I use horrifying anecdotes in hopes that people will realize the risks of unconstrained government.
But perhaps the folks at the Fund for American Studies have discovered a good way of educating statists. Take a look at this clever video.
P.S. Here’s another video from TFAS that uses an unusual tactic to get people to think about the value of capitalism and free markets.
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I have a real problem with the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters. Do the liberal protesters that attack the greed of capitalism ever take the time to look at what the world would look like without capitalism?
I used to live in Socialist/Communist society. In 1980, my family and I escaped from that “paradise”, and came (legally) in the US with just few luggages and two small children. In spite of starting everything from scratches, by God grace, working hard, sometimes two jobs, slowly but surely, our lives improved. I read a lot, like to get involved in politics, and make people aware of the “blessings” to live in a Communist “paradise”. I am dismayed to see so many people just buying the lies of the left wing, socialist, brained washed people, who think that “socialism” means fairness, equality and the best what can be offered to the society.
I could write many stories about the “great” life in a Socialistic society, but the more I tell to many people, the more I understand that many of them don’t believe me, or they think that is not going to happen here, when “the true change” (Obama style of redistributing the wealth) will occur. For me, and many like me, coming from this paradise, it is hard to comprehend the mentality of those who have never lived in that kind of society! I wish they could go and live for several years in this kind of society, but that’s not their goal. They want THIS SOCIETY, using somebody else’s money, and that’s the problem!
I feel extremely uneasy about the possibility of 4 more years with this “Marxist” man (Obama), because if this will happen, this country will never ever recuperate and return to its greatness. Would people hear and vote the right way? Unfortunately, very often the Republicans behave close to the Democrats, and this made a lot of conservatives to loose faith in them. I hope and pray that the Tea Party will be the motivation for the GOP to go back to its roots, the true conservatism developed by our forefathers with a small Government, reduce spendings, lower taxes, true freedom of speech, pro-family, loving God, protecting the unprotected (old people, handicapped ones and unborn children). May God have mercy on us and give us the much needed spirit of revival in this nation!
I wonder if the statists would call it child abuse if I had my children watch this video?
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