Saw this on an online course I'm taking. The teacher summarized the argument from the book "Why Nations Fail" as:
> Growth requires a strong central government to protect capital and > investment, but that cannot be controlled by a select few. > > Otherwise, those select few will enrich themselves by extraction, which > limits growth by lowering investment in (or actively preventing) innovation > and capital. This is precisely what libertarians get upside down. They *do* understand that concentrating power in the hands of a few is extremely dangerous, but they are oblivious to the fact that this can happen with either a free market or a weak government. Of course, lefists see only the other half of this: they understand the need for equal access and a strong central government, but forget that the purpose is to encourage innovation (even disruptively) and reward capital. Sigh... On the other hand, maybe Ash is right: we need to position ourselves as "The Party of Innovation", in that we embrace creating a social context that helps us move the economy (and individuals) forward, even if it leaves corporations and politicians behind (rather than vice versa). -- Ernie P. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
