from
https://www.betonit.ai/p/whose-standards-are-too-high
Prior to any call for government intervention, people should contemplate all of the following:
- No country approximates a free market, but almost all rich countries have a long history of relatively free-market policies.
- In contrast, dozens of countries have approximated full socialism. All of these countries have been abject disasters for human well-being. To quote an American politician in a rare moment of clarity, “We have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in.”
- Looking at the very freest economies in the world, there is little sign that they have taken a good idea too far. As far as we can see, the freer the economy, the better.
- People around the world attack the United States for having smaller government than Europe, yet people around the world also name the U.S. as the country they would most like to migrate to.
- “Monopolies” rarely arise on the free market by chance. Firms obtain monopolies by being — and staying — the best at pleasing their customers. When they stop being the best, they quickly stop being monopolies. Often, they stop existing entirely.
- One of the main functions of actual free markets is giving consumers enough information to make them comfortable. A good reputation is the foundation of every successful business. Thanks to the internet, word of mouth now works better than ever. Which explains the prevalence of 100% money-back guarantees — firms don’t want anyone talking bad about them.
- Developers cause some problems for surrounding homeowners — traffic, parking, and noise for starters. But they also provide notable benefits for surrounding homeowners — an array of social, shopping, job, and cultural opportunities. The fact that people pay large upcharges for density proves that the package of (all the good + all the bad) that development brings is highly positive.
- People rarely give large amounts of charity to strangers. But they also often refuse to give large amounts of charity to their parents, adult children, and siblings. When you hear about such refusals, you probably don’t reflexively take the side of the would-be recipient. Maybe the refuser has a good reason to say, “I’ve done more than enough for my brother.” Why then should we reflexively side against taxpayers who don’t want to fund redistribution to strangers?
- Illegal immigrants are one of the least-liked groups in the country, yet most people still fear that employers will hire them. Why? Because employers have a strong incentive to set personal prejudice aside and hire the best person for the job. Once you acknowledge this truism, how can you take the ongoing moral panic about race and sex discrimination seriously? If you’re paying attention, the real story is that government requires discrimination against whites, Asians, and males.
You needn’t agree with all of these bullet points. As soon as you grant that I’m making some plausible observations, politicians and voters suddenly look bad in a new way. While the free market isn’t perfect, their standards are too high. Instead of piling on even more regulation and government spending, they should be musing, “Laissez-faire seems pretty good. Maybe we should just live with it.”