Today, wishful thinkers on the left look at world market turmoil and see nothing less than the demise of free enterprise. Fact is, no system on earth is better at creating and fairly distributing wealth than the free-market system, says Investor’s Business Daily (IBD).
Just last week, the Heritage Foundation released its annual study of economic freedom around the world. Once again the freest countries are also the richest. Those in the top 20 per cent of free nations have an average per person gross domestic product (GDP) of $28,217; those in the bottom 40 per cent average $3,998. A huge difference, and no accident, says IBD.
But bloodless numbers can deceive. What does an unfree country really look like? Here are a few examples in the news Wednesday:
Remember, that’s just from one day. Imagine a year of such hell, says IBD.
We are going through a short-term economic slump that will be followed by another long-term boom. The only doom will be found in countries that reject free markets for the failed god of socialism, says IBD.
Source: Editorial, Capitalism Lives! Investor’s Business Daily, January 24, 2008.
For text: http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=285984950710168
For 2008 Index of Economic Freedom: http://www.heritage.org/index/
For more on Economic Issues: http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=17
FMF Policy Bulletin/ 29 January 2008
