The Road to 2024: Episode 1

It's not too early to talk about what Republicans must do to win.

In my postings over the next several weeks (maybe months, I sometimes get lazy), I will try to weave in themes that I believe if properly expressed, will first determine who the Republican nominee will be and ultimately who will be the next President of the United States.

I will start with my opinion and perspective of the most important issue of the 2024 election and beyond - the economy, and why so many get it wrong.

The people who support big government and government intervention in the economy would have you believe that the economy is simply too complex to understand and that is why we must seek to control it. We must have expert economists to “manage” our economy - but we all know from practical experience that even the most accomplished of these “experts” are the about as accurate as your local weather girl.

Over the next few posts, I’ll try to make the case that:

• Capitalism is the best system to spread economic well being.

• Economic freedom goes hand in hand with political freedom.

• Don’t put the cart before the horse –get the order of events right.

• Capitalism is self regulating.

• Distributed capitalism mitigates risk and absorbs a lot of bad decisions.

• Economies can’t be “managed” on a large scale – at least not by humans.

So, here we go – your comments are welcome because, according to my IQ score, there is a great statistical probability that there are quite a few of you out there who are smarter than I am.

The first thing Republicans must answer in this time when communism is everywhere is this:

Why Capitalism?

Why capitalism? Because there is a strong correlation between economic freedom and political freedom. I’ll quote Milton Friedman from his book, Capitalism and Freedom (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962):

“It is widely believed that politics and economics are separate and largely unconnected; that individual freedom is a political problem and material welfare an economic problem; and that any kind of political arrangements can be combined with any kind of economic arrangements. The chief contemporary manifestation of this idea is the advocacy of “democratic socialism” by many who condemn out of hand the restrictions on individual freedom imposed by “totalitarian socialism” in Russia, and who are persuaded that it is possible for a country to adopt the essential features of Russian economic arrangements and yet to ensure individual freedom through political arrangements. The thesis of this chapter is that such a view is a delusion, that there is an intimate connection between economics and politics, that only certain arrangements are possible and that, in particular, a society which is socialist cannot also be democratic, in the sense of guaranteeing individual freedom.

Economic arrangements play a dual role in the promotion of a free society. On the one hand, freedom in economic arrangements is itself a component of freedom broadly understood, so economic freedom is an end in itself. In the second place, economic freedom is also an indispensable means toward the achievement of political freedom.”

The first of these roles of economic freedom needs special emphasis because intellectuals in particular have a strong bias against regarding this aspect of freedom as important. They tend to express contempt for what they regard as material aspects of life, and to regard their own pursuit of allegedly higher values as on a different plane of significance and as deserving of special attention. For most citizens of the country, however, if not for the intellectual, the direct importance of economic freedom is at least comparable in significance to the indirect importance of economic freedom as a means to political freedom.

It is no coincidence that the countries that enjoy the most political freedom also enjoy the most economic freedom.

Where It Starts

Now let’s talk about where everything starts – begin at the beginning, as it were.

Commerce… Business… The exchange of goods and services benefitting each party… Everything starts here. The very reason that we even have time to sit around and debate politics and the actions of our leadership is that we don’t have to hunt or forage for food every minute of every day and we don’t have to protect our families from predatory animals that want to eat us and predatory humans who want to take our stuff.

Progressives like Elizabeth Warren, will tell you that government is the reason that you don’t have to chase and kill an ostrich to get a  few feathers for pair of crotchless feathery panties – that government is the reason that you can just hop on Al Gore’s greatest invention, the Internet, and order them from Frederick’s of Hollywood  or Victoria’s Secret to be delivered directly to your door – not that there is anything wrong with that, apparently many people like fancy knickers.

I don’t personally wear them myself but I certainly can see the attraction.

Feathery panties aside (which is the likely the main reason that they are crotchless), the reason that you can do this is not government, it is commerce.

Point being…what was I saying? Oh, yeah…sorry, lost focus there for a minute…even if Al Gore did invent the Internet, that isn’t the reason. The reason is that VS and Frederick’s has panties to sell and there is a market for them…actually, the market comes first and then the panties, but panties are bought and sold making the customers, their significant others AND the firms happy…and they continue to produce those great catalogs…so we all win!

In the words of King Leonidas – “THIS. IS. CAPITALISM!”

See government in there anywhere? A Department of Sexiness, perhaps? Panty death panels?

No, you don’t – because government doesn’t drive demand. Individuals do, they drive demand based on their wants, needs and income and firms respond to that demand.

Bet you never had an economics lesson based on panties, have you? That’s why you should visit here often and encourage your friends to come as well. We are all about economics and panties…and the economics of panties…or the panties of economics. Two great tastes that taste great together…

If for no other reason than VS or Frederick’s, capitalism should be declared a stunning success!

In Road to 2024, Episode 2, we will cover the why progressives get it wrong about the economy every time.