Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets Are Moral and Big Government Isn't by Steve Forbes

Description

From Steve Forbes, the iconic editor in chief of Forbes Media, and Elizabeth Ames coauthors of How Capitalism Will Save Us—comes a new way  of thinking about the role of government  and the morality of free markets.

Americans today are at a turning point. Are we a coun­try founded on the values of freedom and limited gov­ernment, as envisioned by the founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Or do we want to become a European-style socialist democ­racy? What best serves the public good—freedom or Big Government?
 
In Freedom Manifesto, Forbes and Ames offer a new twist on this historic debate. Today’s bloated and bureau­cratic government, they argue, is anything but a force for compassion. Instead of assuring fairness, it promotes favoritism. Instead of furthering opportunity, it stifles economic growth. Instead of unleashing innovation and material abundance, its regulations and price controls create rigidity and scarcity. Not only are Big Govern­ment’s inefficient and ever-expanding bureaucracies ill-equipped to deliver on their promises—they are often guilty of the very greed, excess, and corruption routinely ascribed to the private sector.
 
The only way to a truly fair and moral society, the authors say, is through economic freedom—free people and free markets. Throughout history, open markets have helped the poor and everyone else by unleashing unprecedented creativity, generating wealth, and raising living standards. Promoting trust, generosity, and de­mocracy, economic freedom has been a more powerful force for individual rights, self-determination—and hu­manity—than any government bureaucracy.
 
Freedom Manifesto captures the spirit of a new movement that is questioning old ideas about the mo­rality of government and markets for the first time since the Great Depression. Going beyond the familiar explanations and sound bites, the authors provide a fully developed framework of “first principles” for a true understanding of the real moral and ethical distinctions between more and less government. This timely and provocative book shows why free markets and liberty are the only way to a better future and a fair and humane society.

Editorial Review

A Q&A with the Author
What made you decide to write Freedom Manifesto?
The widespread “conventional wisdom” has long been that free markets are amoral, uncaring and driven by “greed”—while Big Government is a force for compassion and fairness. This insidious, deep-seeded belief is the opposite of reality. Not only has it kept people from seeing the moral virtues of democratic capitalism, but it also intimidates supporters and keeps them from standing up for economic freedom.

Why do you say that free markets are moral?
Free markets create abundance. Opening up any economy unleashes human ingenuity and enterprise. Allowing more competition and opportunity for profit means greater investment in job-creating enterprises and innovation. You end up with lower prices, more available goods and services, more jobs and growth. People’s real world needs are met. The most vibrant sectors of our economy—such and technology, food and clothing—are those that are the most free. Or compare communist North Korea with South Korea and its market economy. Which society offers the greatest fairness?

Why is this book important to read right now?
Our book deals with the fundamental question at the heart of the 2012 presidential election: What kind of nation do we want to be? Are we a country founded on the values of freedom and limited government as envisioned by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Or do we want to become a European-style social welfare state?

Several books have recently explored why free enterprise is moral. What makes this book different?
Freedom Manifesto places the moral differences between economic freedom and Big Government in exceptionally stark relief, showing the real choices facing us today. For example, do Americans want Apple or Solyndra?—a society that provides the chance for anyone to get ahead or one based on cronyism that keeps out true innovators and newcomers? Do they want Silicon Valley or Detroit?—a creative innovation economy like our technology sector, or one mired in rigidity, like our over-regulated health care industry?

Wouldn’t society descend into chaos without government to provide guidance? Why do you say “Big Government” is immoral?
Government is essential to the functioning of free markets because it establishes rules of the road and creates a stable environment where transactions take place according to the impartial rule of law. But Big Government is different from reasonable government. It directs people’s activities and imposes constraints on personal choice and individual freedom. It is about favoritism and paybacks to powerful political constituencies. Big Government also divides society, with various interest groups jockeying for political favors.

In a free market, you don’t have to please powerful politicians to advance. Newcomers can rise and upend established players. There is greater mobility and more prosperity for all. The markets of a free economy promote cooperation and democracy. If that’s not a fair and humane society, what is?