Malcolm,
I've been a Liberal all my adult life, which means I'm in favor of a free
market, free trade, property rights, and land-value taxation. The label was
stolen by people who probably believe in none of these things, but took it
because it has a nice connotation.
Now, it seems the "Liberal" is back but with a different label.
The problem with the free market is tied to the monopoly situation of "land"
- an economic function without which nothing can be done. That's why
land-value taxation, or some other worthwhile land reform is vital. Without
it, the free market is never free.
Unfortunately, modern politicians and economists are involved in a mostly
incomprehensible system. As they play with it ("Let's try this.") it becomes
only more incomprehensible.
The economic crash was a land crash. As a result of the crash, all kinds of
financial skullduggery came to light, a consequence that economists and
politicians jumped on eagerly in the absence of a reason - within their
discipline - for the catastrophic sequence of events. And not exactly
skullduggery, for they simply did what is proper according to their
understandings.
For example, it has been a first rule of banking for a long time during the
past not to accept land-value as collateral because of its volatility. The
periodic crashes in land-value are likely to leave the bank without the
collateral it needs to be safe. Failure to obey this principle has not been
an oversight of some kind, but a policy encouraged by politicians and not
noticed by economists.
This probably because land as a separate function of production has been
read out of economics and is now part of capital. Further, rent, which was
once the return to land was finagled into a return from all the Factors of
Production. So, we are left with an economics which is completely unable to
handle the present economy. Yet, politicians cannot be completely blamed for
the present mess. They would not have made the present decisions without the
advice and encouragement of economists and their "let's try this" or "see if
this works" policies. On the other hand, government is notoriously
inefficient - a good reason to return many of its functions to the market.
The latest scandal in Los Angeles does not find corruption of any kind, but
simply inefficiency.
Public Works received a stimulus $71 million dollars to create or retain 238
jobs. It succeeded in creating and retaining 46.
Transportation got $40 million and succeeded with 9 jobs.
Total "stimulus" amount received by LA was $111 million. Total jobs created
and retained was 55 - about $2 million a job.
We have become used to such inefficiency which probably why many of us seem
to support more government rather than less.
But, it's a puzzlement.
Harry
******************************
Henry George School of Los Angeles
Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042
(818) 352-4141
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-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Malcolm
Blackmore
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2011 3:12 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Futurework] Most succinct definition of neoliberalism I've yet
seen? From from Al Jazeera via David Harvey
>From Al Jazeera quoting David Harvey probably the best one paragraph
definition of neo liberalism I've seen so far (note to self time to try and
order in from public library some recent Harvey works. If they will get them
- the last 10 orders have been banned. I think there is political censorship
being exercised in the library dept.!! I miss my access to the university
library which I lost when I had to retire due to a neurodegenerative health
condition).
"What is neoliberalism? In his Brief History of Neoliberalism, the eminent
social geographer David Harvey outlined "a theory of political economic
practices that proposes that human well-being can best be advanced by
liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an
institutional framework characterised by strong private property rights,
free markets, and free trade." Neoliberal states guarantee, by force if
necessary, the "proper functioning" of markets; where markets do not exist
(for example, in the use of land, water, education, health care, social
security, or environmental pollution), then the state should create them."
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/201122414315249621.html
A [Arab] revolution against neoliberalism?
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