In his new book Living togetherthe liberal philosopher David Schmitz describes (though he does not use the term) for liberals the common good as an effective means of controlling the “traffic” in which countless individuals interact with each other to achieve their own diverse goals.
Justice [as understood by liberals] It is our way of adapting to the miraculous nature of our ecosystem; That is, our ecosystem is full of creatures that have their own ends – the most plastic animals that not only choose (and sometimes imagine), but also stop themselves… The definition of liberalism is not to agree on how to rank destinations for effective traffic management. Liberal justice doesn’t even make travelers aware of other people’s access, much less rank it….
When travelers are easily understood and treated equally, each type of travel will be treated with respect. Each of them is the one who promotes the value of their society. Society depends on people who share the road signs, who know how to promote value rather than seeing whose turn it is and knowing how to do it. Respect Price.
The economic system is this kind of common good – if a common good is real and wonderful – that’s all it means. Marco Rubio, Oren CassAnd other “common good capitalists” then nothing to distinguish “common good capitalism” from the prefix capitalism. But of course Mesrs. Rubio, Cass and other “typical good capitalists” doImagine a very different economic system than the one advocated by liberals today Vernon Smith, Thomas Sowell, Bruce Yandle, Deirdre McCloskey, Robert Higgsand my colleague Pete Bottke. What every “common good capitalist” wants is an economic system designed to serve. His Or her The preferred set of concrete tops. The freedom of individuals to pick and choose their own interests will be lost. Under “common good capitalism” everyone subscribes to produce and consume in a way that promotes only the ends favored by the “common good capitalists”.
Note the irony. The economic system that speaks as an argument to promote Oren Cass Common Good, in fact, is a method of promoting only the good conceived by Oren Kass (which for him includes an economy with more manufacturing jobs and a smaller financial sector). The hubris here is undeniable. “Normal good capitalists” not only imagine what real motives guide the actions of hundreds of millions of individuals, but almost all strangers to them are so confident in their magic that they support them to follow them. Energy use.
A liberal is not opposed to attempts to persuade others of a different and, hopefully, better outcome. Do your best in a peaceful way persuasion I embrace, for my concrete choice of lodestar, Catholic social teaching, economic nationalism, Marxism, veganism, or whatever other doctrine or -ism you believe best describes the common good. But don’t assume that your sincere acceptance of a particular concrete value system is enough to guarantee you. Force That I and others may share your unique values.
To the extent that government intervenes in market processes to achieve these goals, it replaces market competition and cooperation with a command economy. Dirigism. Income creators are not allowed to use their creations and the fruits of their efforts as they choose. Instead, consumption ‘decisions’ are led by government officials. The result will be a diversion of resources obtained through the use of tariffs and subsidies. And by shifting consumption costs, the pattern of production will obviously change from what it would be in a free market. (Actually, the goal of many “common good capitalists” seems to be the success of a different mode of production—for example, more factory jobs—than what would be created when markets were freed.)
Post “Common-good capitalism” is really “X-good statistics”. It appeared at first Cafe Hayek.
