[ffrancone]

This may be a little overstatement; but he is basically correct. Take an anarchy hypothetical. The guy with the most guns runs will always end up running things locally. He extracts tribute from those he allows to trade. Noone can predict what the consequences next year are of their actions today. If I have a contract with a buddy of the local dictator, it is only enforceable if I buy off the local dictator--and maybe not then if he does not like the color of my hair. Capitalism can only exist in this circumstance in a weak and unproductive form. In a sense, capitalism is there (and that is where Will overstated) because people will always trade. Its just that its really hard to do and the complex system of capitalism is not too good, under these circumstances, at building freedom and prosperity.

The government enforces the rule of law. The rule of law imposes predictability to ones actions and a set of enforceable property rights. I can now sue for breach of contract, even if the guy is Bill Clinton's buddy. I know that if I build a set of retail stores on my land, I will be able to lease them for years to come. All of these things flow from the existence of predictable rights enforceable by the government. In that sense, Will is 100% right.

Think! This was the genius of the founding fathers. They were creating a government. Not a non-government. That government was well designed to release capitalism from the shackles of anarchy and petty tyranny. Of course the government can destroy capitalism also. But the flowering of capitalism in the past 200 years has indeed been a government program.

[tonyinv]

But wasn't capitalism first? Doesn't capitalism as the engine enable the government? The implication of Will's statement (to me anyway) was that without government enabling business there would be no businesses.

As for anarchy, wouldn't the free market handle that? If there were truly bad companies wouldn't they everntually fail due to lack of support from either other businesses (suppliers) or customers. Maybe I'm a bit niave on that point.