I know we don’t have a laizez faire capitalist system. So If america is not capitalist than what type of economy would you call it? Welfare state? neo-mercantilist?
Statist.
Its called a Mixed Economy. We like a fair amount of socialism/regulation and a hint of corporatism…woops did I say a hint?
Yeah, the problem with a mixed economy is that it’s not stable–it doesn’t want to stay mixed.
Another term is controlled market/economy. The term mixed market/economy appears accurate because some aspects of our market/economy is controlled by the federal government and/or a government mandated monopoly, ie centralized control of interest rates and money, not to mention subsidies, yet at the same time, there appears some semblance of a free market.
Maybe social democracy is an appropriate term - democratic political structures, with major socialist influences on the economy.
http://thewhitedsepulchre.blogspot.com/
Amtrak would never allow this, above (see the embedded train video):
and a 20-min presentation - with great demographic/economic charts - “How free trade and open market can save the world” @
Where’s the video? [:S]
Ironic how free trade and open market can save the world, but Hans Rosling promotes publicly funded statistical tools for the data.
I would say its some hideous mix between Statism, Corperatism, and Banking.
Inquisitor, it’s “The power of The Market. Literally” posting (double-click the train). Cheers, Tom
Interventionist. The people seem to want socialism en-masse, and an interventionist government is the way to do that.
Donald - if that were true, then Austrians would be barking up the wrong tree wouldn’t they be? If the implication is that it’s in our nature to desire a socialistic paradigm, then libertarians are way off the mark in their efforts toward smaller and lesser government interference (and ergo, also have an incorrect perception of Man’s nature). Or do you mean to say that the masses are uneducated - even intentionally misinformed by those with a vested interest in a socialist agenda (ie. those who get rewarded by such)? There you may have an argument.
Your last option is most correct. I think that while many people are freedom loving (like us) I think that most people (at least in this country) are obsessed with telling others what to do. I am very cynical in this as I have been trying to tell people about this situation for many years and see little progress. I hear on the radio every day how something bad happens and people cry out about how “there should be a law”. Chappaquiddick Ted said no too long ago: “the people expect us to make laws.” Our elected law makers are obsessed with making laws regardless of what these laws say or do. As we know, every law reduces our freedom in some way. The interesting thing is that these same people insist that we are the free-est people in the world and we should be grateful for our great freedom. I understand the conflict you observe and empathize but I didn’t intend to suggest that everybody is a socialist, just most people.
Thanks, and we’ve become a most litigious society for sure - with new laws and precedents (social rulings) being set every day. I’m not so sure most people are happy with this though, only that they don’t know of any viable alternatives.
You are correct, we are litigious. I think that people (especially young people) don’t know what to do. They are told that we are the greatest, free-est country in the world. Therefore either freedom doesn’t work and socialism must be the way to go (especially since they are indoctrinated by teachers into this view), or they become disenchanted at the way things are and zone out with drugs, video games or some other escapist activity. If one thinks that they are free, then why look for freedom? I think that we must convince them that they are not really free and that there is an alternative.
Yep, children are indoctrinated into pro-socialist views at a very young age. Remember the legotown episode.
A greater example of this was: The Get Along Gang
Fortunately, as a kid, I watched Garfield, and they mocked “The Get Along Gang” down to the core with “The Buddy Bears”. Funny show. ( search for ‘buddy bears’ over here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield_and_Friends#Humor )
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinions/x2103555123
This new column explains nicely why people don’t change their views all that often - one’s developed (even incorrect) set of assumptions of reality act as a filter to discard any data that threatens the perceived paradign these assumptions bolster.