Baker's reflection is that while there is wisdom in markets, markets are far from perfect. Populated by sinners, markets can allow injustice, even perpetuate it.
What to do about it? Here's Baker's conclusion:
For a long time my natural instinct, the one that kept me deaf to the complaints of those claiming to have been treated unjustly, has been to defend the corporate estate against all criticisms. We must not be so passive even toward a system that has provided so well for most of us. Is the answer more government? No. The answer is to consistently call for righteousness.
We, of course, agree mostly. That's why we don't describe ourself as libertarian. Those Cato Institute guys have a lot to say, but without virtuous marketeers, free markets don't serve the common good as consistently as they ought.
The "call for righteousness" needs some explication in our view. We think it's possible to persuade many toward wisdom and justice, a little. But we think that decisive change requires conversion. We don't expect to convert most. So we will stand in the public square to call for the promotion of virtue, but mostly we will stand in public and private for something beyond virtue, something needed by people who recognize their ultimate inability to obtain virtue. The former we do to mitigate injustice. The latter we do to eradicate it.
3 comments:
Baker needs to stick to POLY SCI....assuming he is referring to AMR, they avoided bankruptcy - the pilots never got the concession back and are still second only to Southwest in pilot pay. Market forces may indicate they are actually getting paid more than their "value" to begin with due to the union established pay floor.
Regardless - the free market works beautifully - even if there are a few unrighteous folks - the market will purge these folks or assimilate the information into the market (no - not like borg). Our current problem in the US is we are not allowing the market to effeciently exorcise its own demons.
Anonymous: The U.S. has perhaps the largest and most profitable porn industry in the world, and it has been around for quite some time. But how can that be, if the free market is so good at purging "the few unrighteous folks" that run the industry?
JB
In terms of rightous I'm refering to those that are "crooked" within the system that exists. Porn is not illegal and operates under the same "free" market as the airlines. If the market declares porn legal - then it working withn the system - but if the industry does not act ethically within the market - they will be punished by the market.
This furthers my beleif that without proper definition of terms and true dialogue - blogging and blog response is truly a waste of my precious time.. thanks for the insight! You have helped me lift my burden of addiction to respond to postings.
peace and love!!
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