Stronza
May 28th, 2008, 10:08 PM
The following is an excerpt from a recent interview with Ron Paul:
ALI: You’re a fan of the free market. However, many, such as those in third world countries, lament the use and abuse of free market exploitation by predatory actors who subvert ethnical norms for self-profit at the expense of the country’s labor, environment and resources. How can you, if at all, ensure the free market isn’t ruled by an iron fist of the few and truly allows for efficient and fair distribution of capital? It has never worked that way has it?
PAUL: Well, it depends. If you have true, free market capitalism and property rights it works. But, if you have people who don’t understand and recognize private property rights and contracts and sound money like we did in this country – that’s why it worked up until it started to change from the Depression on. That’s why we don’t have real wealth anymore; we have apparent wealth based on borrowing. A country that would follow capitalistic viewpoints would become very wealthy. Anything in the West where they had famine at one time, the only thing that got rid of famine and child labor and all the poverty that so many countries suffer from all came about with the recognition that people are allowed to make profits.
http://counterpunch.com/waj05282008.html
ALI: You’re a fan of the free market. However, many, such as those in third world countries, lament the use and abuse of free market exploitation by predatory actors who subvert ethnical norms for self-profit at the expense of the country’s labor, environment and resources. How can you, if at all, ensure the free market isn’t ruled by an iron fist of the few and truly allows for efficient and fair distribution of capital? It has never worked that way has it?
PAUL: Well, it depends. If you have true, free market capitalism and property rights it works. But, if you have people who don’t understand and recognize private property rights and contracts and sound money like we did in this country – that’s why it worked up until it started to change from the Depression on. That’s why we don’t have real wealth anymore; we have apparent wealth based on borrowing. A country that would follow capitalistic viewpoints would become very wealthy. Anything in the West where they had famine at one time, the only thing that got rid of famine and child labor and all the poverty that so many countries suffer from all came about with the recognition that people are allowed to make profits.
http://counterpunch.com/waj05282008.html