Lesson 1.Markets are a forum of technological and social evolution; a superior method for discovering and perfecting socially-useful advancements for nearly every aspect of the human experience. This evolution occurs according to a three-step process - options are differentiated, a superior option is selected, and then amplified in the marketplace.
Lesson 2.Wealth is value-added innovation that benefits society at large; property rights allow individuals to organize the natural world in the most innovative, value-added ways to benefit all
Lesson 3.Open participation in the free market is ideal; cooperation allows specialization and innovation; full market participation helps to better discover socially-useful advancements
Lesson 4.The competitive process, in allowing everyone to freely choose certain options and discard others, is essential to progress; businesses are the ideal medium for this uncertain process, called Creative Destruction
Lesson 5. Governments should maximize free choice in the marketplace by providing universally-demanded public goods, the rule of law and regulations to preserve open competition; beyond those limited provisions, governments should stay out of the marketplace
1. Liberty | Evolution in the Marketplace of Ideas
Just as free trade helps spur innovation in the marketplace, free speech and open debate within the "marketplace of ideas" similarly helps to create progress in society at large. John Stuart Mill famously argued that a society always gains from allowing free speech, because even if the speech is untrue, the dialogue and debate in rebutting the claim helps to strengthen the majority's own convictions, while also helping to educate the misinformed controversialist.
The art of the modern liberal state is allowing free speech to create constant competition and tension over the values that define a free society, in order to help develop those universal principles of liberty that will best make everyone happy. More philosophically, G.W.F. Hegel is famous for his theory of a "dialectic" through which an argument (or idea) is put forth, it is negated or opposed by others, and then eventually synthesized into a greater truth that satisfies both sides. Similarly, efficient free societies synthesize their citizens' diverse viewpoints into laws which affirm the universal and inalienable rights of man, the autonomy and independence of every individual, and the freedom to cooperate in pursuit of the greater good. When these universal values are discovered, they are quite properly deemed the inalienable rights of man, prior to government, and endowed in all men by their Creator.
In America, the Constitution enshrines these universal values, and the continuous debate over their modern meaning allows American society to constantly test and refine its values of freedom. In the end, this freedom allows everyone to pursue his own happiness in his own way, while affording the protections that everyone wants. In allowing everyone to pursue his own good through trade, debate and free interaction, and adjudicating them through a judge-made "common law of rights" through the Constitution's Ninth Amendment and Due Process Clause, we help discover those fundamental rights that are universally required for the journey.
2. Politicians | A necessary evil that should be recycled often
As noted, laws are supposed to be limited for the equal benefit of all, enshrining these lofty universal values in the Law of the Land. However, as anyone who is slightly familiar with the history of the Supreme Court, Congress or any governmental body in the world knows, governments are less than adept at defending these values. In fact, they're quite terrible at it. (See Plessy v. Ferguson, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Chinese Exclusion Act, etc.) Most of the time, they'd rather just affirm the values of their local constituents, political biases, or personal interests, rather than even bother with the long-term welfare of the nation. How can we ensure that the laws support this dynamic process of social evolution, instead of impeding it?
Evolutionary Economics explains that the way to solve this problem is through Creative Destruction, or in the political sphere, limited government. In allowing choice and competition among legal systems (American federalism), and most importantly, among the politicians themselves (term limits, campaign finance deregulation, and more open competition for office), society can exclude bad ideas and most efficiently discover the timeless value and nature of universal freedom.
3. Education |We don't need no thought control...
The most obvious public good is education. But the gross failure of the public education system is obvious to the reader of this Guide - one size does not fit all. The individual needs of a child in his or her education are as diverse and myriad as the personalities of children themselves. To endow a government with the authority for articulating universal methods of education, when none such exist, would be laughable if it didn't have such terrible real-world consequences (see No Child Left Behind).
The theory of multiple intelligences explains that individuals can excel in certain specialized fields (social interaction, music, athletics, etc.,) but not others. This diversity of needs counsels for market competition, not bureaucratic control. Instead of selfishly lobbying for the state provision of music programs, sex education, or other specialized institutions that many children do not need, public policy should let teachers, parents and children discover what's needed for them.
The only universal value in education is that all children need it. Beyond that, however, the specific nature of a child's quality education is a matter of choice and circumstance. As a result, school vouchers are the only effective method of allowing the educational market to Evolve, while recognizing the value and potential of every individual. As it turns out, it's probably the only use of Evolution in school that will make everyone happy.
4. Music, Entertainment and Technology |The FCC versus Free Choice
It's quite ironic that many people note the lack of choice in certain technological fields and blame Big Business. Why do cell phone companies offer such poor deals? Why does the music on the radio suck? Blame the Corporation!
But the problem isn't the businesses that offer the technology - it's the government that regulates the use of it. Because the government's FCC "owns" the broadcast spectrum through which broadcast radio, television, cellular and other products are available, businesses in those industries must spend massive time, energy, and dollars in satisfying the FCC before they ever can send legally music or information through the airwaves. (First Amendment, Mikey?) As the former FCC Chief Economist Thomas Hazlett has noted, the massive regulations that the FCC creates in order to create "fair" access to broadcast spectrum end up requiring Huge Corporations to pay millions in lobbying dollars and delay costs to even have a chance at expressing themselves on the "public" airwaves. Small companies often have no chance (violating the requirement of competition in Section 4) - and so nearly everything the FCC regulates is an inefficient oligopoly.
But internet radio is not regulated by the FCC, and the differences in quality are noticeable. In the competitive environment, businesses like Apple's iTunes, Pandora Internet Radio, and myriad others can bring value-added content choices to the people, without the meddling hand of the FCC preventing technological evolution.
The free market is the source of value-added innovation in music and technology, and governments only stifle the creative process in their disingenuous use of censorship to satisfy the personal preferences of a loud minority special interest. Rapper Jay-Z often lyrically explains how his music, despite being regarded as indecent garbage by the Old White Majority, inspires inner-city youth to work hard, keep their heads up, and make their dreams happen. (This is why Jay-Z is worth $324 million.) This "self-help" effect of his lyrical genius, among others, benefits everyone - and that's why the FCC should leave him (and the market) alone.
More from M. Harrison | If you like this author of this fine publication, you might also like: Be Your Own Boss
Libertarian ideas to escape the grind, find decent health benefits, and maybe even retire one day
