Marxists, Sort Of, Speak Out
‘The great promise of capitalism, as first suggested by Adam Smith and recently enshrined in "market fundamentalism," was that we didn't have to figure anything out, because the market would take care of everything for us. Instead of promoting self-reliance, this version of free enterprise fostered passivity in the face of that inscrutable deity, the Market.’ ‘Rising to the Occasion’, by Barbara Ehrenreich & Bill Fletcher Jr in The Nation Blog, HERE:
Comment
You can’t blame Barbara and Bill for repeating the error they have been taught by modern generations of economists since the 1950s. It has nothing to do with their sort of, Marxism (read their post in full from the link).
It would be much better to teach what Adam Smith did say about how markets work within a commercial society (Books I and II of Wealth Of Nations), which includes requirements for the rule of law, personal liberties, and appropriate national policies that were not driven by jealousies of trade, monopoly practices and restrictions, and a lack of care for society as a whole.
Perhaps this extract from Moral Sentiments could help set the scene:
“What institution of government could tend so much to promote the happiness of mankind as the general prevalence of wisdom and virtue? All government is but an imperfect remedy for the deficiency of these. Whatever beauty, therefore, can belong to civil government upon account of its utility, must in a far superior degree belong to these. On the contrary, what civil policy can be so ruinous and destructive as the vices of men? The fatal effects of bad government arise from nothing, but that it does not sufficiently guard against the mischiefs which human wickedness gives occasion to.” (Theory Of Moral Sentiments, 1759: Book IV)
Comment
You can’t blame Barbara and Bill for repeating the error they have been taught by modern generations of economists since the 1950s. It has nothing to do with their sort of, Marxism (read their post in full from the link).
It would be much better to teach what Adam Smith did say about how markets work within a commercial society (Books I and II of Wealth Of Nations), which includes requirements for the rule of law, personal liberties, and appropriate national policies that were not driven by jealousies of trade, monopoly practices and restrictions, and a lack of care for society as a whole.
Perhaps this extract from Moral Sentiments could help set the scene:
“What institution of government could tend so much to promote the happiness of mankind as the general prevalence of wisdom and virtue? All government is but an imperfect remedy for the deficiency of these. Whatever beauty, therefore, can belong to civil government upon account of its utility, must in a far superior degree belong to these. On the contrary, what civil policy can be so ruinous and destructive as the vices of men? The fatal effects of bad government arise from nothing, but that it does not sufficiently guard against the mischiefs which human wickedness gives occasion to.” (Theory Of Moral Sentiments, 1759: Book IV)
Labels: Marx v Smith, Smith On Government
2 Comments:
Yeah, I am totally agreed with your gloomy yet true prognosis of what is going on with the politics in Kenya. It is really sad as I have got to find out that even those who purport to have the solution for what is going on have their own ulterior motives. As was reported afew days ago by a kenya times reporter there seems to be a bad seed that wills to destroy the unity within the opposition camp for if not ulterior motives but for selfish reasons.
Sydney
Drug Intervention
Sydney
I think you are commenting on some other post(?), not this one.
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