'Laissez-faire' economic policy Options

[*CrackedRearView*]

For any of you folks in high school that haven't reached United States History class yet, the term 'laissez-faire' is French for "Let us alone!"

The history behind it dates back to French oppression. A minister of state once asked what France could do to encourage and support commerce, and a frustrated manufacturer replied, "Laissez-nous faire!"

In essence, today's 'laissez-faire' economic strategy is this:

a) Separation of business and state, similar to separation of church and state.

b) Non-facilitation of the formation of trusts, by which an individual or a committee gains hegemony in an economic sector (this only happens when regulated government charters are ordered). The unregulated trust was 'busted' by Teddy Roosevelt, the 'Trust Buster'.

c) Promotes and rewards competition, especially in banking (destruction of the Federalists' ideas of a national bank, or Bank of the United States).

d) Directly refutes Marx and Engels' strategy as pointed out in the Communist Manifesto concerning the centralization of banks.

e) Those who are most productive are rewarded, and the greater an individual's ability, the greater the likelihood that he will be trusted and respected by others in the marketplace.

THE DEBATE: As it has played out in the last century, Republicans champion 'laissez-faire' economics, pushing for less governmental influence, whereas Democrats seem to push for more centralization and governmental economic reform.

I'm certain that on this forum there are at least three times as many Democrats as Republicans, and probably twice as many neo-Socialists as Republicans, so please, make my day.

Tell me why this system of economics is surpassed by the economic strategy of government centralization.

[*CrackedRearView*]

I absolutely agree with you, Acid. But the United States isn't a complete laissez-faire economy, it's just an offshoot of it.

American capitalism is an entity all on its own.

"laissez-faire is inherintly evil. it's akin to throwing many people in a pit, each armed by themselves and to different degrees, and then telling the guy with a 2 inch blade that it's only fair they lost to the guy with the glock."

That's exactly what is needed. It complements human nature. Such was the failure of centrally owned economic systems proposed by Owen, Lenin, and Marx. Such was the failure of the Soviet Union.

It can also be applied to social issues as well. You're not influenced so much in this country because you're not forced to watch newscasts feeding political propaganda to the masses (like in Soviet Russia).

But honestly, do you think more government is better than less government?