Scott
Verified User
Just finished reading the article from whence this thread derives its name. I thought it was quite good. Quoting the introduction and another snippet of it below:
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Jul 15, 2025
For generations now, western economic thought evolved around the ideas of free markets, private, profit-seeking enterprise as one of the key elements that leads to economic development, employment and prosperity. Of course, there’s truth in that, but over time, ideas tend to calcify and true understanding gives way to polarizing ideologies. Instead of examining real world evidence and refining their ideas, people align themselves with this or that school of thought and fall into tribal allegiances, defending their side as if it were their home football team. Few dichotomies are as polarizing as that between capitalism and socialism.
The Chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Germany wrote this in his book on economics:
[snip]
Local governance has been eviscerated, enabling collusion between government and big business. Before the clever and witty Iron Lady, local authorities carried out most of their functions in house, but that was socialism and therefore too costly and inefficient. Today much of it is privatised, but it is even more costly and less efficient. Freedman offered the example of “care” for orphaned children. Private equity firms saw this as an opportunity to make a killing and by today, three quarters of places for children are being provided by for-profit equity firms.
That didn’t quite lower the cost, however: in the past five years, the cost of this function has risen by 72%, and the average weekly bill per child now stands at just under £6,000. That’s more than £850 ($1,160) per day - more than renting a room at The Ritz, as Freedman points out! But private enterprise doesn’t only seek to maximize profits; they also endeavor to minimize costs. To do that, private child carers sought out properties in the cheapest parts of England, removing the children from their local areas where they may have some family and social support. That made it much easier for them to be targeted by grooming gangs, among other things. But hey, that too can be a source of profits for the valiant private equity interests.
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Full article:
alexkrainer.substack.com
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The ideologies we embraced don't even begin to make sense in light of real-world evidence.
Alex KrainerJul 15, 2025
For generations now, western economic thought evolved around the ideas of free markets, private, profit-seeking enterprise as one of the key elements that leads to economic development, employment and prosperity. Of course, there’s truth in that, but over time, ideas tend to calcify and true understanding gives way to polarizing ideologies. Instead of examining real world evidence and refining their ideas, people align themselves with this or that school of thought and fall into tribal allegiances, defending their side as if it were their home football team. Few dichotomies are as polarizing as that between capitalism and socialism.
Nevermind the evidence, what’s your stripes?
One side sees free market capitalists (whatever that be) as greedy, cold-hearted scrooges; the other believes that socialists are lazy thinking freeloaders who barely deserve to exist. If you argue the actual issues, you must word your arguments very carefully to avoid triggering anyone’s tribal circuitry, get labelled as a commie and dismissed along with your arguments. In fact, when people tell me, “I’m a card-carrying free market capitalist,” I don’t even bother. This type can go into a fit of rage over “welfare queens,” but think it’s cool if a zombie private corporation gets a no-bid multi-billion contract from the government. Of course private contractors can do everything better and more cheaply than the government. If they make obscene profits at it, so much the better!The Chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Germany wrote this in his book on economics:
That sounds good enough for most people in that tribe to nod approvingly: so true, so true… In fact, they’re inclined to believe that everything you love you owe to capitalism, as the great Lew Rockwell passionately argued in his 2009 article titled, “Everything You Love You Owe to Capitalism.” But what if Marquart, Rockwell and their patron saint Ludwig von Mises are wrong?
[snip]
The actual evidence
As I wrote here on a number of occasions, Britain’s economy is in dire straits, the state’s share of the GDP is well over 50%, its fiscal position is catastrophic, public services are a hot mess and nearly everything that got privatized is shockingly dysfunctional. Former senior Whitehall insider Sam Freedman recently published a book titled, “Failed State: Why Britain Doesn’t Work and How We Fix it.” The book explores how, by managing the funneling public money to private contractors, the government became over-centralised with the Prime Minister and the Treasury dominating the domestic policy and the economy.Local governance has been eviscerated, enabling collusion between government and big business. Before the clever and witty Iron Lady, local authorities carried out most of their functions in house, but that was socialism and therefore too costly and inefficient. Today much of it is privatised, but it is even more costly and less efficient. Freedman offered the example of “care” for orphaned children. Private equity firms saw this as an opportunity to make a killing and by today, three quarters of places for children are being provided by for-profit equity firms.
That didn’t quite lower the cost, however: in the past five years, the cost of this function has risen by 72%, and the average weekly bill per child now stands at just under £6,000. That’s more than £850 ($1,160) per day - more than renting a room at The Ritz, as Freedman points out! But private enterprise doesn’t only seek to maximize profits; they also endeavor to minimize costs. To do that, private child carers sought out properties in the cheapest parts of England, removing the children from their local areas where they may have some family and social support. That made it much easier for them to be targeted by grooming gangs, among other things. But hey, that too can be a source of profits for the valiant private equity interests.
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Full article:
Socialism vs. free market capitalism: the false dichotomy
The ideologies we embraced don't even begin to make sense in light of real-world evidence.
alexkrainer.substack.com