Why is it that the stupidest talking points also tend to be the most heavily repeated? If I had a dime for every time I heard Somalia used as an example of libertarianism or free-market capitalism, my fortune could possibly rival that of Bill Gates.
Somalia has no form of government. That means it’s under anarchy. Libertarians and free-market capitalists do want government; they just want to limit its power over the people, especially the market. Therefore, Somalia is not an example of either libertarianism or free-market capitalism.
Unfortunately, such logic does not pervade the minds of libtarded moonbats like
Sam Seder, who recently claimed that the best way to debunk libertarians is to simply let them talk.
VIDEO: How To Debunk A Libertarian: Let Them TalkThe free market does not exist. There is no unencumbered market.…Maybe in Somalia.…That’s what a free market is. It is feudalism. It is who has got more guns…or swords, and arrows. They’re the ones who are going to…accumulate the most wealth. Capitalism can only function properly with strong government controls that protect consumers and workers from the excesses of capitalism. It’s not even the excesses. It’s the operation of capitalism.
I love how he assumes that libertarianism or free-market capitalism is about allowing whoever has the most guns the right to rule, even though both philosophies reject the use of force through the non-aggression principle. As one person said in the
comment section: “Well, if that's his concern then it makes no sense to grant the state exclusive monopoly on the use of the biggest, baddest guns in society, does it?”
But Seder is half-right about the free market. There has been no true free market, as all markets have had some level of regulation, which is necessary to an extent. However, there are markets which are freer than others, the perfect example being Hong Kong. From
Wikipedia:
As one of the world's leading international financial centers, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterized by low taxation and free trade. The currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eight most traded currency in the world as of 2010. Hong Kong was once described by Milton Friedman as the world’s greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism. It maintains a highly developed capitalist economy, ranked the freest in the world by the Index of Economic Freedom for 15 consecutive years. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with one of the greatest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region, and is known as one of the Four Asian Tigers for its high growth rates and rapid development from the 1960s to the 1990s. Between 1961 and 1997 Hong Kong's gross domestic product grew 180 times while per-capita GDP increased 87 times over.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh largest in the world, with a market capitalization of US$2.3 trillion as of December 2009. In that year, Hong Kong raised 22 percent of worldwide initial public offering (IPO) capital, making it the largest centre of IPOs in the world and the easiest place to raise capital. Hong Kong's currency is the Hong Kong dollar, which has been pegged to the U.S. dollar since 1983.
The Hong Kong Government has traditionally played a mostly passive role in the economy, with little by way of industrial policy and almost no import or export controls. Market forces and the private sector were allowed to determine practical development. Under the official policy of "positive non-interventionism", Hong Kong is often cited as an example of laissez-faire capitalism. Following the Second World War, Hong Kong industrialized rapidly as a manufacturing centre driven by exports, and then underwent a rapid transition to a service-based economy in the 1980s. Since then, it has grown to become a leading center for management, financial, IT, business consultation and professional services.
Hong Kong is but the leading example. The remaining
Top 10 freest economies are Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, the United States, and Bahrain. As for Somalia, it isn’t even listed on the
Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings. So much for it being a
libertarian free market paradise!
`anmari has been spreading her infectious positivity throughout our community for over 6 years. Throughout this time Ana has been at the core of all things devious, passionately developing an eclectic gallery, helping organise devmeets, participating in chat events and also recently completed dedicating her time as a Community Volunteer. We are absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for May 2013 to `anmari, congratulations! Read More
Sta.sh
Maybe that's just the cynic in me.
Maybe that's just the cynic in me.