One 'good' thing about the Cold War was that it 'put the fear of Communism' in the heart of every Commie-fearing capitalist.
We had a moral obligation to be seen as and actually provide a better life than that experienced by those behind the Iron Curtain. We had to pay attention to the negative aspects of market-based economics and at least attempt to mitigate these problems.
It also showed people what 'real' communism looked like. It's big joke that people think we're measurably closer to anything resembling socialism.
The idea that capitalism itself is a moral end to achieve in and of itself, regardless of the reality, seems to have taken root. People who are left worse off are dismissed as stupid and lazy.
As someone with an economics background I'm strongly in favor of markets and capitalism, but it's worrying when people forget that the strength of this way is based upon the health of the economic institutions that enable it to function.
Right, markets are an institution but not the only one. It's a problem that people forget and think it is only one we need.
Economic institutions encompass everything that allow it to function including basic ideas like private property rights, rules and regulations that enforce contracts, and functions that account for the welfare of people.
Markets are what people with diverse motivations and rights to dispose of their property "do" when they wish to dispose of their property (or deliver services) or when they wish to acquire new property or have services performed. The market as a concept isn't something handed down by the gods, nor instituted by decree.
I agree that there are other concepts that dispose of people's "property" and require them to seek or deliver services; in the past we called them things like theft, war, and slavery.
We had a moral obligation to be seen as and actually provide a better life than that experienced by those behind the Iron Curtain. We had to pay attention to the negative aspects of market-based economics and at least attempt to mitigate these problems.
It also showed people what 'real' communism looked like. It's big joke that people think we're measurably closer to anything resembling socialism.
The idea that capitalism itself is a moral end to achieve in and of itself, regardless of the reality, seems to have taken root. People who are left worse off are dismissed as stupid and lazy.
As someone with an economics background I'm strongly in favor of markets and capitalism, but it's worrying when people forget that the strength of this way is based upon the health of the economic institutions that enable it to function.