The private sector narrative -- part III

The story-tellers of capitalism and limited government are bombarded by statists with myriad questions on particulars, because the statists are accustomed to plans and programs -- What about the poor? Who's going to pay for poor Millie's artificial hip? What about the children? Who will save the pin-striped owl? Who will keep the ice-caps frozen? Who will care that Uncle Ben can't even afford Alpo? What about expanding home-ownership with low-interest rates, no down-payment and a furniture allowance? Who will screw the rich bastards?

Don't get me wrong, my sarcasm isn't a let-them-eat-cake insensitivity, but the statists who ask these questions are missing the point. The story of the private sector is not a story of five-year plans and social engineering -- that's what got us into this mess. The libertarian-minded aren't callous to these problems -- they simply know the problems are too complex for a gaggle of a technocrats to solve (do technocrats come in gaggles?). "But," responds the statists "our neighbors don't care about these issues, so who will care?"

Everyone thinks they, and their group, are the only ones who care. And, of course, the capitalists don't care, because we've seen in the movies how they act -- a vicious and greedy bunch, they are. Personally, I'm sick of hearing liberals and progressives talk as if government is benevolent, and the private sector is selfish and greedy. Anyone who has kept up with the antics in government can't possibly believe politicians and bureaucrats have better answers for our lives than we have ourselves, or that government will take care of the people while we would back-stab each other and watch people starve or die in the streets from lack of healthcare.

The point is that government poses as the benevolent, wise giver of care and financial protection, when in fact they have no idea how to solve our most pressing problems -- and, for the most part, they care more about power than they do about real solutions. Look at the public schools -- look at the results of the welfare state -- look at the financial condition of Medicare -- look at what they did to housing and, ultimately, the financial system, in cahoots with corporate cronies. If the government cared about real solutions they'd be considering private solutions, yet they resist private solutions so they can protect turf and maintain a powerbase of voters.

The story of the private sector is one of innovation, magnificent economic gains, unbelieveable technological progress and great feats of charity. The story of the private sector is that where there's been need, answers emerge -- where there is demand, supply emerges -- where there is a challenge, ingenuity emerges. Free people find real solutions, yet our unique abilities have been weakened by government dependence, by regulations which thwart our best efforts and protect large corporations against smaller competitors, by laws which prevent the emerging innovations and changes that would naturally develop.

The progressive will read this and come up with a list of market failures, how the private sector failed to deal with poverty, failed to eradicate pollution, failed to deal with racism, yet, if you dig far enough back you find an America that was creating organizations to deal with societal problems until government stepped in and began meddling. Alexis de Toqueville wrote about the magnificent genius America had for helping organizations, and he also predicted how this genius would be dulled by the state slowly taking over as we passively transferred responsibilities.

So, in the end, the progressives are accidentally right, the private sector has failed -- it failed to resist the state.