tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1926891106758008587.post3682270601967780295..comments2024-01-01T21:57:26.021-05:00Comments on Where the Rubber Hits the Road: Donald Trump: Nobel Laurete? It's possible!Fr. Tim Moylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030197987469327645noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1926891106758008587.post-6223226823396032762010-09-15T14:20:35.107-04:002010-09-15T14:20:35.107-04:00MIchael; True enough, but I am speaking about cap...MIchael; True enough, but I am speaking about capitalism has practiced in North America, not the laissez-faire form that sprung up from Europe.<br /><br />I disagree with your contention that there does not exist a causal relationship though between capitalism and liberty. If you accept the model of capitalism as implemented in Japan, Germany, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, India and China, you see the same process repeating itself. First, peasants are afforded the opportunity to benefit from their own ingenuity and creativity which begins to generate family wealth. This kick starts the development of a middle class. Other liberties begin to develop as a consequence of this rising and confident voice of artisans, workers and entrepreneurs. Even states that start out as absolute dictatorships see themselves morphed into something that approximates a more democratic expression of this new class of citizens.<br /><br />It has happened everywhere it has been tried. I do know of an example where it has failed, ergo I am willing to accept that there is a causal connection between capitalism and liberty.<br /><br />TimFr. Tim Moylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18030197987469327645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1926891106758008587.post-7117981418636304742010-09-14T10:34:43.139-04:002010-09-14T10:34:43.139-04:00Tim,
I can't get the National Post to recogniz...Tim,<br />I can't get the National Post to recognize my email address for its comment thread (some technical glitch--just as well), so I'll write here.<br />You're assuming a necessary connection between economic liberty and democratic freedom. That the two have coincided in some cases is beyond doubt; what is less certain is whether it is a cause-effect relation or a mere correlation.<br />I believe that a case can be made that the growth of the middle class is due not so much to capitalism itself as to the mitigation of the ill effects of laissez-faire captialism through social programs. Without this mitigation, there would be a large, impoversihed underclass, as is the case in areas where social programs are less generous.Fr. Michael Smithnoreply@blogger.com