Any policy, good or bad, can be implemented badly by incompetent persons or those with bad intent. This is part of the basic dilemma of government. Has real capitalism ever been tried? Its opponents will say yes, its advocates no.
If people really wanted to give innovations a fair try, they would make it much easier for volunteers to perform experiments upon themselves (and only themselves). There are some real practical difficulties with this approach, but the most significant one seems to be that people are not interested in finding out the truth this way. It seems such a waste of time and effort since they “already know” what is best. Why wait for the ignorant skeptics to catch up? But it turns out that people tend to be overconfident that they know what the consequences of a policy will be, including all the “side effects.”
Rough evidence is found in the struggle to create charter cities (e.g. Prospera). China's Shenzhen economic zone at first seems to provide a counterexample, but a careful examination of its history reveals that its origin and to some degree its persistence has more to do with political expediency than the declaration and steadfast implementation of a central government policy. Dubai might provide an actual counterexample.
What about China? How to explain their termendous progress within the socialist domain.
I am in no way a China apologist. Their human rights legacy speaks for itself; Mao and Stalin
are co equals in killing their populations
The pair of quotes at the beginning of Niemietz's book is priceless:
"The red flag of international Socialism waves from the
palace and from all the public buildings of Berlin. […]
[O]ur long years of toil and battling for the righteous
cause of the people are now crowned with success. The
old rotten regime, with its […] system of plundering the
working classes, has crumbled to pieces. And for the
benefit of my children, and children's children, I intend
to set down, in a humble way, some little account of the
beginning of this new reign of brotherhood and universal
philanthropy.
Eugen Richter
Pictures of the Socialistic Future (1893: Chapter 1)
An order has just been issued to reduce the bread rations
of the entire population by one half, and to do away with
the meat rations altogether. […] I find I shall henceforth
be no longer able to give the same full account of events
as they happen. The twelve hours day comes into force
tomorrow, so I shall then not have much time for writing.
[…] I notice that I am regarded with such increasing
suspicion that a search might be made, and my papers
confiscated at any moment.
Eugen Richter
Pictures of the Socialistic Future (1893: Chapter 32)"
Hmmm maybe "priceless" isn't the best word in this context . . .
Any policy, good or bad, can be implemented badly by incompetent persons or those with bad intent. This is part of the basic dilemma of government. Has real capitalism ever been tried? Its opponents will say yes, its advocates no.
If people really wanted to give innovations a fair try, they would make it much easier for volunteers to perform experiments upon themselves (and only themselves). There are some real practical difficulties with this approach, but the most significant one seems to be that people are not interested in finding out the truth this way. It seems such a waste of time and effort since they “already know” what is best. Why wait for the ignorant skeptics to catch up? But it turns out that people tend to be overconfident that they know what the consequences of a policy will be, including all the “side effects.”
Rough evidence is found in the struggle to create charter cities (e.g. Prospera). China's Shenzhen economic zone at first seems to provide a counterexample, but a careful examination of its history reveals that its origin and to some degree its persistence has more to do with political expediency than the declaration and steadfast implementation of a central government policy. Dubai might provide an actual counterexample.