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Four Myths About the Free Market and Its 'Demise'

that "free markets" is a 19th century American anachronism as signaled by the wish of some conservatives to roll back regulation to the time of president mcKinley - whose policies encouraged the monopolies TR broke up. if conservatives really wanted free markets in our time they would have to abolish trade unions - the labor market's one that doesn't get mentioned in this crisis. in my opinion anyway its a big mistake to equate capitalism and democracy. as robert schiller says, capitalism is a 19th century word coined to oppose communism. and capitalist economic practices developed in the 18th century. democracy is a political idea of the ancient greeks. politicians mislead the people when they try to make them believe that free markets, rigorously speaking, are the equivalent of democracy. the political will of the people has asked for both guarantees (fdic, social security, for example) and regulation ( leverage limits, the FDA for example). Democracy intervenes in free markets. Lets see McCain advocate putting social security in the hands of investment banks (ha ha, they no longer have a grip). Anyone knows that the guaranteed benefits of private social security would go the the financial privatizers (privateers).

Looking for Hope

praying for help in the material world is the mistake Job made -
as Jim Morrison sang...."you cannot petition the Lord with prayer"

An End to Efficient Market Theory

Let me add that I decry the fact that with these bailouts mortgage holders will be paying their mortgages twice; once to the bank and again to the government for the bailout. Same goes for renters, supporting their landlords and their banks. Why should taxpayers subsidize business who have designs on their money. Let the businesses take care of themselves. After all they are the ones who have tried to screw labor saying every worker is an entrepreneur through right - to - work laws.

An End to Efficient Market Theory

you forgot the chief ideologues of EFT; Republicans. The market theory of CEO compensation was that super high salaries would stimulate execs to achieve high profits in the short term. They leveraged the s--t out of themselves in the financial sector. Detroit automakers deferred fuel-saving technological advances in favor of pushing gas-guzzling suv's. Now they're crying for taxpayers' money. Sorry, the chest-beating capitalists are crying to nanny now. You don't hear these "business leaders" putting down bailouts, just the armchair ideologues of the right.