Bush on Capitalism

President Bush was talking a lot of sense in the following speech:

-- History has shown that the greater threat to economic prosperity is not too little government involvement in the market, it is too much government involvement in the market.

-- Like any other system designed by man, capitalism is not perfect. It can be subject to excesses and abuse. But it is by far the most efficient and just way of structuring an economy.

-- Ultimately, the best evidence for free market capitalism is its performance compared to other economic systems.

-- The record is unmistakable: If you seek economic growth, if you seek opportunity, if you seek social justice and human dignity, the free market system is the way to go. (Applause.) And it would be a terrible mistake to allow a few months of crisis to undermine 60 years of success.

In other words, our trust on free market is not based on faith or belief, it is based on development experiences throughout the course of history. And we trust the free market not because it is inherently perfect or good in an absolute sense, it is simply better than all the EXISTING alternatives. Unless humans are lucky enough to stumble on another system better free market, if we want to prosper, there is simply NO other way.

For the full speech, read here.

All the recent BS about free market fundamentalism is simply that, BS. No sophisticated free market supporter subscribes to that strawman anyway.

BTW, for those on the left who want to criticize Milton Friedman and other intellectual leaders of the free market, please, please at least read through their stuff before attacking them, not by imaging something they had said or believed and then criticized them on stuff that they did not write or say.

Read the damn books/papers or shut the (insert a four letter word here) up!