THE RECORD

September 08, 1999

Fiat Lux

by Ed Deak

In my last column I started the examination of the long line of contradictions in neo-classical capitalism, as advocated by their chief prophet, Milton Friedman and his Chicago School of Economics, known as the Chicago Boys.

Mr. Friedman strongly advocates that "cooperation in an exchange must be strictly voluntary, no exchange to take place unless both parties do benefit. No external force, no coertion, no violation of freedom is necessary to produce cooperation among individuals all of whom benefit." Sounds great. Nobody could find fault with such lofty ideals, except that, like the rest of present economic theories, they are a pack of lies.

We only have to open up a daily paper, or tune in radio or TV news to get the latest propaganda on the great benefits of globalized competition and endless promises of the great wealth it is going to bring us. Then in the next minute we hear that income gaps, destitution and environmental destruction are growing all over the world, there are more wars than ever before, 40,000 children starve to death every day and there are 30 to 50 million unemployed in the industrialized, wealthy countries alone. They call this the "efficiency of the open markets."

Hundreds of millions of people around the world are still trying to believe that these so called economists and our politicians in the pay of multinational corporations will somehow turn things around and wealth is just around the corner. The hope of desperation. Reminds me of the time when the Russians were already inside Berlin, yet Propaganda Minister Dr. Josef Goebbels was still on the radio promising miracle weapons that will bring on a Nazi victory.

There's no such thing as cooperative competition, because the purpose of competition is to beat the other guy, not to cooperate with him. In a cooperative situation everybody would reach the finishing line at the same time and there wouldn't be any winners.

Real competition is the search for excellence under controlled conditions and the neutrally guaranteed protection of life and property. War, crime and economic competition are the forced acquistion of benefits and properties against the owners' will.

A well balanced economy, based on private enterprise, works like our highway system. We are free to buy any kind of legally acceptable vehicle and after we pay for tax and licence and abide by traffic laws, we can drive it anywhere. The safety of our lives and property is protected by laws applicable to everyone and enforced by an impartial policing, justice and insurance system. Nobody is permitted to race, or force others off the road. The drivers of all vehicles have the same rights and responsibilities, regardless of size. In the case of accidents emergency vehicles have the right of way to save lives and possessions.

On the highways of capitalist economics the fastest and biggest vehicles must have the right of way. They must be encouraged to push anybody off the road, or hijack anybody's vehicle. The fastest and those who do the most damage must be rewarded. There should not be any rules, laws and regulations or any police on the road, as they would hamper the efficiency of competition. No saving of life and property permitted, as that would be "protectionism" and a show of weakness. In our brave new world everything must be up for grabs by the biggest bullies and those who are hurt, or destituted deserve it for not being competitive enough.

What is the purpose of this madness? To cut costs and prices and create wealth. Nobody seems to notice that costs and prices are going through the ceiling, stress and poverty are killing millions and our whole society is falling apart at the seams.

When we bring these unwelcome facts up with our so called economists, their pat answer always is: "That's because we're not competitive enough yet and you just don't understand these things!"

Well, after 42 years in business and many years of research, I think I do understand more than some pinheads with a few years of college brainwash to their credit. What I can not understand is how millions of people, including experienced, independent business people, still fall for this cruel fraud. I can not understand how they can still follow the lies of politicians who are nothing more than the wholly owned subsidiaries of some corporate Politbureau on their way to rule the world.

Copyright (c) 1999, West's International