Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrat
Individual Freedom For Everyone

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

American Feud: Noam Chomsky- Adam Smith and The Invisible Hand

This piece was originally posted at FRS FreeStates on WordPress: American Feud: Noam Chomsky- Adam Smith and The Invisible Hand

Not exactly breaking news that Noam Chomsky is not a fan of Adam Smith. Noam Chomsky describes his own politics as libertarian-socialist. The key word being socialist when it comes to his economic philosophy. With Adam Smith being the God when it comes to Libertarians and economic Libertarians when it comes to economic philosophy. To go along with Milton Friedman. That government should essentially be out of the economy with countries essentially free to trade with each other at will with no restrictions.

Adam Smith, is the Milton Friedman, or Ayn Rand for the Libertarians, but from three-hundred years ago in the 1700s. Someone who believed that money and economics should flow freely. Without any government intervention. That countries and business’s should be free to trade with each other without having to deal with tariffs. And of course Noam Chomsky being a Libertarian Socialist, (which is not an Oxymoron) to say he hates that economic philosophy would not be an understatement. because of the job business’s is to make money. Even if people get hurt as a result.

Noam Chomsky, who I at least don’t seen as a Marxist, would at the very least I believe eliminate most if not all for-profit private corporations. Especially multi-national for-profit private corporations. Leave in small business’s and create an economy where government didn’t run and own business’s, for the most part, but where the employees would own stock in the companies they work at. And even have a real say beyond their unions how they business’s that they work for are run. Which are called employee cooperatives.

In case anyone is interested my own personal economic philosophy. I like free trade, I like profit motives, I like for-profits, I like employee cooperatives, I like having a public safety net, but I would reform the current one that we have. I like the regulatory state, but again I would reform that as well. But as any good economist will tell you it’s to have a vibrant economy where the most people possible in the country can do possible you really need to have a mixture of everything that works well.

You have to have profit motive for people and companies to have incentive to be productive and successful. Which is why education is not only so important, but it’s essential that people be encouraged to either finish their education, or further their education. So they can do as well as they possibly can. Which benefits everyone involved. You need free trade to have countries competing with each other so they’re economies are productive as possible. But also so they can sell as many of their products as they possibly can. Which is why low tariff rates are critical.

I like employee cooperatives, because again as a Liberal I like decentralization of power both in the public and private sectors. Plus cooperatives gives employees real incentive beyond their salary, or hourly wage and whatever benefits they receive to be as productive as possible. The better they personally do and their company, the more money they are going to make. Because they’re literally now stockholders in the company that they work for. I believe in the public safety net, because again the for-profit private sector wants to make money. And assisting people who are down is not profitable. Private charity, even with government out-of the picture, can only do so much. But the safety net, just shouldn’t be public charity, but a system that empowers people to get on their own feet and no longer need public charity at all.

I believe in the regulatory state, because again when you have for-profit private economic system, business’s best interest is not always the public’s. Polluting their waste and having low safety standards and low wages and benefits for their employees, to use as examples, plus whatever taxpayer subsidies they get from government, improves their bottom line. Which is why you need a limited responsible government to step in and set the rules that has everyone’s best interest at heart, especially the public’s. So you have basic safety standards that benefits employees and consumers. Environmental standards that benefit everyone. A living wage so low-skilled workers aren’t so dependent on public assistance and private charity for their cost of living.

As a Liberal I believe in liberal economics. Or liberal capitalism, which really until the 2000s is how America became the economic superpower of the world. Where you have private individuals able to decide where they work for, or even able to start their own private companies. Where you have a regulatory state to see that profit motives don’t hurt employees, consumers and the environment. Where you have a safety net for people who truly need it. And hopefully empowers them to get themselves off of public assistance all together. And where we trade with other countries and invest in other countries as they invest in America with low tariffs. When you have big government trying to do everything themselves, or practically no government at all, is where you see economic collapses. Like with the Marxist states and the Great Depression from the 1930s.

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