Day: June 28, 2010

Yet Another Domino Theory

Inkwell Institute

2010 Economic Crisis

There are Domino Theories everywhere……the possibility of an uncontrollable economic problem is lurking in the wings…..what would that be, you may ask?

In the recent history of the world there have been several uses of the “Domino Theory”, where if one thing falls others will follow…..like Vietnam, if it fell to the communists then Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and so on would fall to those hated “commies”.  And then there was most recently in the economic sphere where Greece is in trouble and if it falls so will Portugal, Ireland, Spain and quiet possibly the US will fall.  There have been other times and incidents where it has also been used but these are the most encompassing.

I see yet another possibility where there is the possibility of the theory actually having some legs this time…….Financial Reform could be setting the stage for another fall from grace.  Why?  I have NOT seen anything in the two versions of the bill that would prevent this uncontrolled gambling by banks and hedge funds….if anything it will just encourage them to try it again….and again….and again….

Let me put it this way……if you went to a casino and lost all your money but someone else paid for your loses….would you stop gambling?  NO!  You would not!  And that is what the FinReg bill will do….it will reward the gamblers for their loses and penalize the country at the same time….all I can say is……THIS IS THE GOVERNMENT THAT YOU VOTED FOR…..ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?   WHEN WILL YOU DIPSTICKS HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THESE GAMES BEING PLAYED WITH YOUR LIVES?

It’s The Economy, Stupid!

Inkwell Institute

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Political Theory/Economics

Paper #20

I believe it was Clinton or maybe one of his lackeys that came up with that line….but it is accurate….we cannot talk political theory without talking about the economy (for this post in general terms)……But beyond the cute saying…..NO study of politics could ever be complete without a study of economics….for these two are forever twined…..

Just look at any modern political campaign……and what are the main issues?  90% of them are involved with some sort of economic planning…yes I said planning….the USSR and other ‘socialist’ regime are NOT the only political system that has its planning phase….even here in the good old US of A…..think it is wrong?  Then what to you call the plans to cut the budget?

As in almost all other subjects within political philosophy different ideologies view the economy in different lights…let us navigate through the major ideologies on the economy……the breakdown is pretty predictable….

Liberals see the economy as vital part of civil society and have a strong preference for a market or capitalist economic order hat is based on property, competition and material incentives.  However, classical liberals (from the old days) favor laissez-faire capitalism which is the real free markets….modern liberals recognize the limits of  the markets and accept limited economic management.

Conservatives show a clear support for private enterprise but have favored a limited pragmatic form of intervention to eliminate the free for all of laissez-faire and the risks of social instability.  The “New Right” is embracing a unregulated form of capitalism.

Socialists, especially the Marxists, have expressed a preference for common ownership and absolute social equality, which is expressed in forms of state collectivism and state central planning.  However the Social Democrats support regulated capitlaism, believing the market is a good servant but a bad master.

The Anarchists reject all forms of economic control or management….however the anarcho-capitalist advocates an entirely unregulated market economy……(NOT ALL Anarchists are bomb throwers….sorry to burst a bubble here).

Fascists have traditionally looked for a ‘third way’ for the economy……somewhere between capitalism and communism…….settling on the idea of corporatism, which draws labor and capital together in this so-called ‘organic whole’………It consists of nationalizations and planning in an attempt to subordinate profit to the needs of the nation……..(which never seems to work the way it is suppose to…kinda like socialism).

There you have the major ideologies and what the economy would look like if they were in control……once again the definitions are very simple in an attempt to make it a bit clearer to my readers….as you can see the economy and politics are linked together for all time…..one cannot study the one side of this equation and hope to grasp the complexities of governance…..

Afterword:  I am NOT trying to sway anyone to my way of political thinking (though I would not object if it did) I just want my readers to realize that there are many ways to view different issues and that not all of us see everything in right or wrong……..