Federic Bastiat and Liberty

Bastiat Propaganda

Federic Bastiat once wrote that “At whatever point on the scientific horizon I begin my researches, I invariably reach this one conclusion: The solution to the problems of human relationships is to be found in liberty.” While in theory this is what people all over the world want, it is not necessarily true. In the most current dictionary the definition of liberty is as follows: the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.  If everything were actually solved by absolute freedom we would be living in anarchy. I am not a socialist or a communist, my views are that free trade and especially Americans rights to freedom are the way to go. However, I cannot say that the answer to all the problems in the US can be solved with liberty.

Now let me take this time to begin by saying that when people are actually being oppressed then the answer to the problem is actually liberty. But, the issue with this is that some people believe they are being oppressed when they are actually just breaking laws. Hypothetically speaking, if a murderer was to say, “I am being treated unfairly by the justice system, Federic Bastiat said that liberty is the answer to justice, I deserve to be free.” In this situation the murderer truly believes he or she is being oppressed, and that the only option is for liberty. So in this situation for Mr. Bastiat to say that liberty is the answer would not truly be correct.

I agree with the idea that liberty is the answer to a lot of problems that our society currently faces, but when Federic asserts that it is “always” the answer, he immediately loses me.  A non-hypothetical situation that liberty would not have solved was the financial crisis that peaked in 2007-2008, or in simpler terms the housing bubble. For those of you reading this that are not sure what lead to the housing bubble, I will give a quick summary. With the deregulation of the Savings and Loans market, the investment banking industry was able to give horrible loans out to millions of people, and after loaning to a point where there were almost no loans to be made on the market, the bubble burst devaluing property and causing a nation wide default of loans. The nationwide default caused nearly all investment banks that had these loans to go bankrupt.  In this situation that is still fresh in the mind of many Americans it was too much liberty that caused people to become victims to bad loans. While I am a proponent of free trade, I believe this crisis could have been stopped with companies being told they have to be reviewed periodically to make sure they are in good standing. Sadly, with their unfound freedom these banks took advantage of their liberty.

Mr. Bastiat is radical in saying that everything can be solved with liberty, but at the same time, it is liberty itself that keeps our country what it is. Without free trade and free speech we would be an oppressed nation crumbling under an oppressive government. For our country to thrive we must pride ourselves on liberty, but remember that to much liberty and no law leads to a place that is not fit for living.

Karl Marx on Modern Colonization

The so-called “Capitalist System,” which has in the modern world taken a turn toward full scale globalization, resembles more the antiquated system of colonization than the “beautiful modern system” the capitalist régime has glorified. The only difference, of present, is that the poorer nations, which are utilized as the production centers of wealthier, more industrialized, nations, are indeed “nations.” These nations, while they have their own governing bodies, are puppets to larger nations; they have their economic strings pulled to the detriment of the people. What was once the situation with colonies and their mother countries, where colonies were exploited for the economic benefit of a few wealthy individuals in the mother country, has been transposed on the modern economic sphere.

Inequities between individuals, as a result of the selfish empires of capitalist individuals, have been growing to the point where the amount of inequity is exasperating. In a world which the capitalists claim to be modern, intellectual, and in every way better, how is there still inequality? The system which capitalists claim to be flawless, is flawed to the core. There great and ever-present inequalities within countries; “wealthy” nations have extremely poor individuals and a select group of uber-wealthy ones, whereas “third world” nations, the greatest victims of the capitalist scheme, have an even greater division of wealth and social status where the few fortunate individuals who work with the wealthy foreign corporations are exponentially wealthier than the common workers. Not only that, between the exploited nations, and the exploiting nations the average income, and, therefore, the standard of living, are immensely disproportionate. In a world with so much technology that is “making our lives better,” how can individuals and corporations still believe it moral to have more than they need, when others need more?

The system of capitalism need reformation. To allow capitalism is to allow exploitation, inequity, a self-centered ideology, and purposeful impoverishment. The world, especially today, is ready to change it’s way of thinking, and more more importantly, it’s way of operating. Capitalism is slavery. Those who, not through skill, but through luck, happen to be more talented in some field are able to place themselves in positions where they can benefit others. Instead, because of capitalistic teachings, they place themselves in positions where they can rule those less fortunate. Capitalism, therefore, is slavery. People, if taught correctly, would not work solely for themselves, but to a common goal, and for the common good. Such multi-national corporations as Nike which are undeniably immoral corporations that take advantage of cheap foreign labor and the destitute states of their people and governments, are the filth of the world. They are the new slave-owners of the new colonial world. The colonies of the US for example, which include places from indonesia, to taiwan, are simply used by the most immoral ways by the capitalistic filth.

On a planet where connections are easily made, and where equality is “valued,” the state of the world is rather pathetic. It is the obligation of those who are more fortunate, to do more to help others. Those who are less fortunate, should do their most, and be helped by those more fortunate. Globalization, although it has brought with it many, many issues, is beneficial to the achievable goal of true equality. Since it is easier now, to help others, and to get around, there is no reason for capitalism to exist. Equality by way of communism is the most ethical solution. People should begin to realize that the current system is least moral, and that communism would eliminate the  ethnic issue of equality. While communism in the past, due to a lack of distribution systems and technology, has failed, the modern era is perfect for the communist system. With all the technology, and all the systems in place for mass distribution, communism is only the most logical, and the most ethical solution.