From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Jul 06 2005 - 14:28:30 BST
Arlo,
> Take a country that has more CEP than us, but is not a military
> dictatorship. I'll pick one, since you've refused. Denmark. Are the
> majority of citizens in our country "better off, more-free" than the
> majority in Denmark?
Since I don't know how much CEP goes on in Denmark and since I've never
lived there, I can't say.
> > > Are you suggesting that the trade barriers employed by the US and other
> nations have not had any role in harming Cuba's economy?
> >
> > Castro and his friends love to blame the U.S. for Cuba's lousy economy.
> > The problem is not the embargo. It's the command economy which prohibits
> > private enterprise and ownership of property. The U.S. should not
> > subsidize such a regime.
>
> How a small, island economy with little raw materials (outside certain
> agricultures) can be expected to function while being blocked from
> participating in the world economy because the US does not like its leader,
> and then used as an example of the failure of CEP is, frankly, astounding
> to me, Platt. And should be to anyone reading this in the archives.
Be not astounded. The U.S. is not blocking Cuba from participating in the
world economy. Canada, China, Mexico all trade with Cuba, among many other
countries. The reason the country "doesn't function" is because of its
total CPE together with lack of property ownership and free markets, like
most countries in Africa.
> But, fine, I've said my part on this. Let the record show that as evidence
> that "less CEP" causes a better life for the majority of a nation's
> citizens, Platt has demonstrated this to be so because we are "more free"
> than a brutal dictatorship, and have a stronger economy than a tiny, island
> nation after decades of economic embargos from the worlds nations.
>
> Of course, using such absurd examples is a good way from having to produce
> measures and statistics showing how, for example, the majority of citizens
> in the US are "better off, more-free" than the majority of citizens in
> Denmark, Germany or Japan.
As I wrote in a post addressed to MSH, I do not measure quality by numbers.
> > > Can you provide an example that is not a brutal military dictatorship,
> > > or a
> tiny, island economy subjected to global trade barriers?
> >
> > Laos, North Korea and China are still centrally planned economies. But,
> > but even in those communist countries, free markets are on the rise and
> > should be encouraged. Can you provide examples of command economies which
> > are not "brutal military" dictatorships? (Are there any other kind?)
>
> Let's not succomb to the slippery slope here, Platt. You've stated that
> "less central economic planning" ensures more freedom and better lives for
> the majority of citizens.
>
> I know how much you want to prove this by descending into dictatorial
> examples. But let's stay on track.
>
> Less CEP = higher Quality for the majority, right?
Right. More CEP, more dictatorship.
> Were the majority of citizens in the US better off in the late 1890s when
> there was significantly less CEP? Your logic would indicate so. Take the
> daily lives of the majority of citizens in 1890, you'd argue that overall
> they were better off than we are?
As I said before, you can't compare the quality of the lives in 1890 to
2005 due to technological and societal changes.
Onward to Part II . . .
Platt
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