Here it is, part three of four … or five. Probably part four will just be a little bit bigger than the first three. Some of my thoughts on economics! I hope to say more about some of these points in future posts.
-I think it’s much more desirable for wealth to be widely distributed for the promotion of leisure and economic freedom, than for it to be highly concentrated among a small number of private citizens. That’s not necessarily to say that the money should be immediately taken away from the wealthy and redistributed, but at the very least, the highly unequal situation shows that the system has been problematically set up so far and that it needs to be changed to lessen the chances of the same being the outcome in the future.
-I do think free trade, without tariffs or disguised tariffs, is probably the most efficient economic system and the best way to benefit all economies involved, and so insofar as that’s the goal, that should be the means employed. However, I do not at all think that a maximally efficient economic system should be the only priority. For instance, if international economic pressure against an evil actor can help reduce war or risks of war (I write this during the Russia-Ukraine conflict), then that seems desirable. Also:
-I suspect it is a prudent thing to encourage a strong agricultural sector within one’s own nation, if nothing else; set up the economy so that one’s own citizens are normally able to produce more than enough healthy food to feed the entire population, so that in an emergency we will not be entirely dependent on outside forces for our survival. Normally any excess can just be sold wherever there’s a buyer.
-I’m not against the government guiding the growth of the economy in one direction or another, or encouraging (and even discouraging!) technological innovations in one area or another. Some things the market is just not well equipped to regulate by itself.
-Indeed, I wonder sometimes if research and development shouldn’t be a much bigger part of what governments do.
That’s it for today. The (probably) last instalment of this series will arrive Monday! Or Tuesday or Wednesday if I’m forgetful.