Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Greenspan Over the Top–Says Capitalism a Force for Peace
With only a few months left in his tenure as Fed Head alan Greenspan has rachet-ed up his propaganda. In accepting an honorary degree at NYU on December 14, 2005 he implied that Capitalism is a source for peace.
Greenspan is just reiterating his old argument that free markets bring about competition and open up economies and thereby raise the standard of living of the countries citizenry. The last time I looked poverty has not budged much in the USA and the bulk of America’s are still in debt. So much so for telling the truth.
The fact is the free markets foster, not reduce, violence. A few years back I did a study that found that the Freest countries in the world, as gauged by the Wall Street Journal and Heritage foundation through their Index of Economic Freedom, were also often the most violent countries as registered through violent crimes and murder.
The idea that the market is based upon trust and that the market weeds out the untrustworthy is a marketing concept meant to dupe the innocent into thinking that everything is fair and square. If that were not the case then there would be no need for lemon laws for the sale of used cars or any such similar laws.
History shows that the freer markets get, a.k.a. business/corporate power rises, the number of scandals increases. Charles Kindleberger in his epic, Mania’s Panics and Crashes noted that scandals are always symptomatic of a market top (peak in stock prices) and hence signal the end of the power rise of corporations. Meaning implicitly that the rise of corporate power brings with it the rise in the number of scandals (the rape and pillaging of the people.) We need only look to Congress, the President and the likes of Enron, Worldcom, etc.. to see the consequences of 30 years of free market policies in the USA. No thanks.
Let’s hope Fed Head to be Ben Bernanke is better at telling the truth.
To read the speech click on the following link:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2005/20051214/default.htm
"Open and free markets are the antithesis of violence. They rest not only onYikes. It is clear that Fed Head Greenspan has never spoke to anti-globalization protesters, whom he has called "wrong-headed." He probably has not talked to the poor in the third world that are suffering from neo-liberal policies and corporate giants. I am imagine that they would have something to say about faith and trust.
voluntary exchange but also on a necessary condition of voluntary exchange:
trust in the word of those with whom we do business."
Greenspan is just reiterating his old argument that free markets bring about competition and open up economies and thereby raise the standard of living of the countries citizenry. The last time I looked poverty has not budged much in the USA and the bulk of America’s are still in debt. So much so for telling the truth.
The fact is the free markets foster, not reduce, violence. A few years back I did a study that found that the Freest countries in the world, as gauged by the Wall Street Journal and Heritage foundation through their Index of Economic Freedom, were also often the most violent countries as registered through violent crimes and murder.
The idea that the market is based upon trust and that the market weeds out the untrustworthy is a marketing concept meant to dupe the innocent into thinking that everything is fair and square. If that were not the case then there would be no need for lemon laws for the sale of used cars or any such similar laws.
History shows that the freer markets get, a.k.a. business/corporate power rises, the number of scandals increases. Charles Kindleberger in his epic, Mania’s Panics and Crashes noted that scandals are always symptomatic of a market top (peak in stock prices) and hence signal the end of the power rise of corporations. Meaning implicitly that the rise of corporate power brings with it the rise in the number of scandals (the rape and pillaging of the people.) We need only look to Congress, the President and the likes of Enron, Worldcom, etc.. to see the consequences of 30 years of free market policies in the USA. No thanks.
Let’s hope Fed Head to be Ben Bernanke is better at telling the truth.
To read the speech click on the following link:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2005/20051214/default.htm
