In an excellent article, by Janet Daley, entitled, “G20: If capitalism is ‘overthrown’, we’ll lose our political freedom,” Daley discusses the importance of understanding what is really at stake at the G20 Summit. “The question we are wrestling with now,” writes Daley, “– and which the G20 will certainly fail to resolve – is how much the bodies which actually do have power should undermine, suppress, sabotage or even outlaw the practice of capitalist exchange.”
While many at the G20 will be in a debate over what economic system is “better” than the other, that is “capitalism” or “socialism,” Daley says the real issue is the principles of freedom verses the command economy. She continues,
It is in the interests of the Left to talk as if capitalism and socialism were precisely analogous because then they can be seen as competitors and in bad times, the command economy as opposed to the market-based one can win the popularity contest. But this fallacious argument into which, I am sorry to say, a great many well-intentioned people are allowing themselves to be drawn is very dangerous: capitalism isn’t really an “ism” which is why the term “free market economics” is so much more apt.
When we make the case for capitalism, we are defending the political principle of freedom, not arguing for one kind of rigid economic organisation over another. The debate is being hopelessly muddied by those late converts to free enterprise – politicians like Mr Brown who believe that markets should only survive if they can be made to serve Left-wing purposes.
So the idea that the arguments which will dominate the summit are purely economic is quite wrong: this is about politics. The fundamental disagreement between the United States and Europe amounts to nothing less than the question of whether the great 200 year old experiment in national democracy – government of the people, by the people, and for the people – will survive.
It seems that the Brits have a clearer view of what is at stake, the survival of individual liberty and constitutional government, then many Americans. To read the rest of this excellent article click here.
