Cleaning Up After the Elephants

Foundation for Economic Education ^ | 5/12/06 | Sheldon Richman

[libertarianPA]

I detect a pattern in the challenges hurled at (genuine) liberals on nearly every issue. The opponent of liberalism describes a problem, invariably with roots in a government infringement of freedom. In response, he prescribes more government interference with freedom, at which point the liberal interjects that the best and only just solution is the repeal of the culpable state power. The statist replies that this will not do because the liberal's proposal won't solve every related problem and may even reveal hitherto overlooked problems. Undo still more government action, the liberal replies. But this brings the same criticism.

Here's what's going on. The exercise of state power for many years has created gross distortions in incentives, consumer preferences, and investment, leading to the problems under discussion. In other words, the politicians and bureaucrats have made a royal mess of things. Then liberals are faulted for not being able to clean it up tidily with the wave of a hand. That they can't make everything right at once is then held against liberalism.

[battlegearboat]

"Cheeta, get Tarzan!"

[bassmaner]

Of course, the article is discussing 'classical' (ie. real) liberalism. What we often antagonistically refer to as 'liberalism' (ie. socialism) is about as 'illiberal' as one could imagine.

It's rather sad that a word that once had a positive meaning has been so distorted, thanks to the revisionist relativism of the political left.