Kudos to Keith Halliday: it’s so great to read a thought-provoking column that challenges the status quo view of economics and the role of government.
Government and citizens of western industrialized countries seem to assume that government should be responsible for our economy and that it is government’s role to control and direct the economy. People point to the economic challenges of our day and talk about failure of capitalism.
From my perspective it is a failure of government directed policy. Governments are constantly trying to anticipate and direct our economies on both sides of the border but the solution is not more government control.
Yes, we need rules to ensure an even playing field and to prevent dishonest dealing, but as Halliday points out the “great leap forward” taken in China during the 1960s was not a success.
I hope the new leader of the NDP would please read Halliday. Democracy and capitalism are certainly imperfect but they are the best that we have been able to figure out so far.
Stuart Schmidt
Dawson City