Around 1980 I went to work for the US federal government, the US Forest Service to be specific. I was then a libertarian economist (Austrian School). Many people I knew were puzzled as to why I chose the Forest Service over private industry. The answer was simple and personal: I believed then that the financial collapse that happened in 2007 (or 2001 depending on perspective) was imminent. I also believed that the government might be a better safe-haven than private industry during a financial hurricane. And I loved the public lands, which was a chink in my libertarian armor.
During my early years in the Forest Service I adjusted my ideology, drifting left. I was never a fan of government bureaucracy, but I came to view government as a necessary evil. Despite being embedded within bureaucracy I continued (and continue now in retirement) to rail against bureaucratic bungling (e.g. here, here, here).
After thirty years studying markets and market mechanisms, I believe that capitalism (Wiki link) too is a necessary evil, at least for the foreseeable future. Capitalism is necessary because it is the best way to deliver the type and amount of "goods" people desire. It is evil because it is "cruel, unjust, and turbulent", as noted long ago by Joan Robinson. My dream is that someday (distant "Star Treck" future) we will be able to transcend capitalism, but that is only a dream. We would at minimum, have to find a means (read "incentives") to unleash the creative innovations that market mechanisms now unleash, and to transfer effective "price signals" and other signals that market mechanism now transfer when markets function effectively.
I also believe both government and markets to be necessary and good. That is, when functioning well they both serve necessary functions in society.
But both government and capitalism tend toward abuses of power, sometimes intertwined, that lead to evil. This is particularly true when we fail to recognize this tendency. Crony capitalism (Wiki link) is only one of these. Our challenge is to find means to thwart evil tendencies in both government and capitalism, and to find means to enhance the good in each — in both. Our challenge it to quit thinking "either, or" and start to face the reality of "both, and".
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