OJBs Web Site: Blog Page

Note: You are currently viewing my old web site. There is a new version with most of this content at OJB.NZ.
The new site is being updated, uses modern techniques, has higher quality media, and has a mobile-friendly version.
This old site will stay on-line for a while, but maybe not indefinitely. Please update your bookmarks. Thanks.

Add a Comment (Go Up to OJB's Blog Page)

Just Can't Win

Entry 321, on 2006-05-06 at 15:40:39 (Rating 3, News)

This morning I heard an interview concerning the recent death of JK Galbraith, the well known American (born Canadian) economist. I'm not an expert on his ideas, but they seemed to be contrary to those of the more pure ideologists like Ayn Rand, and in my opinion they were closer to reality.

Why should economics be as simple as just letting the market operate unhindered? Why should maximising profit be the sole aim of a commercial organisation? Clearly the real world is more complicated than that, and government intervention and social factors should be considered too. Economists have a reputation for being out of touch with reality. If they just realised that the world is more complex than just a place where an artificially created monetary system can work then we might make some progress as a civilisation.

A quote I heard which sums things up well is "capitalism is where one person exploits another, and communism is the opposite." I guess the majority just can't win either way.

There are no comments for this entry.

You can leave comments about this entry using this form.

To add a comment: enter a name and email (both optional), type the number shown above, enter a comment, then click Add.
Note that you can leave the name blank if you want to remain anonymous.
Enter your email address to receive notifications of replies and updates to this entry.
The comment should appear immediately because the authorisation system is currently inactive.