I’ve Been Thinking, or, A Proposed Taxonomy of Economic Ideologies
My previous discussion about whether or not we classical liberals should use the term “free market” as opposed to “capitalism” has made me think a little more about how we classify economic ideologies (not real world economic systems or the practical results of the implementation of any economic ideology).
The Nolan Chart classifies actual economic systems according to their real world level of state control. But, take for instance Proudhon-style Free-Market Anarchism (i.e. Mutualism). This ideology would, like classical liberalism, have a low “Statism” rank. Yet there are many differences between Mutualism and Classical Liberalism (for one, the former accepts the Labor Theory of Value).
I am suggesting a way to classify various economic ideologies that can at least come close to accepting these differences. Note that, unlike the Nolan Chart, this form of classification applies only to economic ideologies (and takes no position on social matters).
Those Chinese f**kers are trying to rat-f**k us.
Perhaps Kevin Rudd is trying to prove to us that he isn’t a communist stooge. I wonder what the reaction would have been if John Howard had said such a thing. I know it is not highly relevant to the policy debate that we ought to be focused on but none the less I do find it an amusing distraction.
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