cgr

A Capitalist Reformation

You are obviously not a Reagan Republican. The system that you are criticizing is socialism not capitalism. Socialism creates public debt. Capitalism is not premised on greed but rather on voluntary mutual exchanges. BTW, the US still produces over 20% of the worlds good with only 4% of the world's population.

Four Myths About the Free Market and Its 'Demise'

Your article reflects a deep misunderstanding of the theory that you are criticizing.

They're fair -- Markets are always fair because they do not exist unless there is a win-win exchange. No exchange takes place unless both parties perceive a benefit to the transaction.

They're unregulated. -- Your premise is sound. Governments do currently regulate financial markets. But it does not follow from this premise that more intervention/regulatio... is required. Given the crisis, the question that needs to be asked is whether there are problems with the current interventions by government.

They're efficient. -- The premise of free market theory is that voluntary exchanges of individual players reflect the interests of society as a whole -- the Invisible Hand. Inversely, if a voluntary exchanges do not take place, that means that the exchange would not benefit society. Government coerced or encouraged exchanges do not benefit society as a whole, but rather those who can persuade government to act on their behalf.

They're cheap. -- No one knows what will happen if the bailout does not occur. There is an equally speculative list of horrors that could result from intervention. History shows that markets, when permitted to exist, are efficient at reallocating capital. Business that do not add value are allowed to be destroyed, so capital can move to successful businesses and prudent managers. Good bankers will find jobs with stronger firms. And, FYI, academic consensus is that the Great Depression was a government failure, not a market failure.

BTW, there are lots of free marketers advocating no government regulation and stable currencies. You should check out the Von Mises Institute and the Cato Institute for starters.