Markets Suck – A response to Jason Brennan

Jason Brennan posted a bleg Where are the “Market Suck” Libertarians?  Here is my response.

We have all heard the quip from Winston Churchill “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”   click for reference

In a similar vein it could be said “Free Markets suck, but all other economic systems tried suck worst”.

As a young child, when I wanted something I would ask my mother. She would either give it to me, or say “no”, or sometimes she would say “maybe later”. Sometimes I would persist, and sometimes she would give in, but usually not. When I did not get what I wanted, although I might be temporarily unhappy, I knew that she had my best interests at heart, and that if she said no, I really didn’t need it. It was a good system. I would just ask, never had to give up anything (value for value) , and always got what I really needed.

Those who don’t like market systems, probably had the same experience, but they haven’t grown up, and pine for a system that worked like what we had as children.

Those who claim that because other people are alive, that puts obligations on us, or don’t like the choices other people make, typically advocate immoral systems because to them – the ends justify the means.