Will Durant on Free Trade and How it Helped to Build Athens
"The crossroads of trade are the meeting places of ideas, the attrition ground of rival customs and beliefs, diversities beget conflict, comparison, thought, superstitions cancel one another and reason begins."
Durant's tomes on civilization cover many areas. In particular economies and societies. He notes the interface between the two and the invariable problems that while free markets generate human progress, they tend to naturally concentrate wealth and power to the minority with great ability: hence his view that beginning with the first stirrings of civilized progress in Sumeria, continuing on through following nations and empires, this natural 'redistribution' results in (an also natural) reaction to reverse 'redistribute' by either legislated or dictated societal action, or revolution. The unbiased historian recognizes the pattern, notes it, but offers no solution.
The so-called "unbiased" historian is merely more successful at fooling people into thinking he is unbiased.
BB said: "free markets generate human progress, they tend to naturally concentrate wealth and power to the minority with great ability"
They do, except compared to socialist/controlled systems, which concentrate wealth and power in a much much more dramatic and severe (and stratified) fashion than free market systems do.
I would also add that free trade has brought millions of people out of utter destitution while foreign aid has tended to make people poorer and dictators richer.
..once in awhile there is a foreign aid exception: "Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. To date, the United States has provided Israel $118 billion"
Lack of free trade built Pyongyang.
ReplyDeleteDurant's tomes on civilization cover many areas. In particular
ReplyDeleteeconomies and societies. He notes
the interface between the two and
the invariable problems that while
free markets generate human progress, they tend to naturally concentrate wealth and power to
the minority with great ability:
hence his view that beginning with
the first stirrings of civilized
progress in Sumeria, continuing on through following nations and
empires, this natural 'redistribution' results in (an also natural) reaction to
reverse 'redistribute' by either
legislated or dictated societal
action, or revolution. The unbiased historian recognizes the pattern, notes it, but offers no
solution.
The so-called "unbiased" historian is merely more successful at fooling people into thinking he is unbiased.
ReplyDeleteBB said: "free markets generate human progress, they tend to naturally concentrate wealth and power to the minority with great ability"
They do, except compared to socialist/controlled systems, which concentrate wealth and power in a much much more dramatic and severe (and stratified) fashion than free market systems do.
I would also add that free trade has brought millions of people out of utter destitution while foreign aid has tended to make people poorer and dictators richer.
ReplyDelete..once in awhile there is a foreign aid exception:
ReplyDelete"Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. To date, the United States has provided Israel $118 billion"