Saturday January 16, 2021
  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast
Versión Español
PanAm Post
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
PanAm Post
No Result
View All Result

Home » The Ghost in the Machine

The Ghost in the Machine

José Azel by José Azel
March 28, 2019

0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterTelegramWhatsapp
Central planning ignores that we value products and services according to our individual circumstances, wants, and needs.
(Image: Flickr)

Do we have a right to think whatever we want, or do we have an intellectual duty to follow the evidence? Philosophers have long struggled with this question, particularly in dealing with the existence of God. In American jurisprudence the straightforward answer is to follow the evidence. Here I am borrowing the question regarding our political-economic choices.

Today, the evidence is quite clear that democracy and free markets are the political-economic systems most conducive to improving the wellbeing of the population. International studies reveal that, on a per capita basis, the wealthiest countries in the world are all market economies. Politically, most are democracies, and some are oil rich realms; Soviet-style centrally planned economies are nowhere near the top of the surveys.

RelatedArticles

Political Trial Against Trump Conducted by Democrat Linked to Chinese Spy

Political Trial Against Trump Conducted by Democrat Linked to Chinese Spy

January 15, 2021
China Plans to Launch ‘Crypto-Yuan’ to Bolster Communist Regime’s Control

China Plans to Launch ‘Crypto-Yuan’ to Bolster Communist Regime’s Control

January 15, 2021

And yet, collectivists still hold that state-run, centrally planned economies, are the way to go. Collectivists appear to believe in some Marxist ghost inside the government machine that will allocate resources and distribute benefits in ways more favorable than democracies and market economies. While it is possible to excuse Marx and Engels for their 1848 Communist Manifesto arguments, given the social conditions at the time, it is absurd today to call for the “forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions” in favor of a collectivist approach.

A centrally planned, command economy, is an economic system in which the government makes economic decisions rather than the bottoms-up decisions that flow from the free interaction between consumers and producers. A centrally planned economy is organized as a top-down model where choices regarding investment and output are decided by a few bureaucrats with little input from consumers.

Among the many fallacies of central planning is the belief that products have a true and constant value: a “just price.” Accordingly, any price above that “just price” is due to the avariciousness of the producers. Central planning theory assumes that the market does not work in the best interest of the people. Therefore, a central authority – a ghost in the machine- is needed to make decisions that will advance social and national objectives. Central planning ignores that we value products and services according to our individual circumstances, wants, and needs.

The ghost in the machine is how British philosopher Gilbert Ryle criticizes the notion that the mind is distinct from the body. I find the phrase helpful to highlight the collectivists’ dogma of a mysterious benevolent agent present in government intervention. In command economies, state-owned enterprises undertake the production of goods and services. But, there is no ghost in the government’s machine that commands economic activity to be carried out on our behalf.

Present day collectivists justify their advocacy for state-owned enterprises on grounds of egalitarism, environmentalism, anti-corruption, anti consumerism, and the like. Collectivists leave unexplained how government planning bureaucrats -the ghosts in the government’s machinery- will detect, and seek to satisfy, our preferences as consumers better than the free-market’s price system.

These computational and information difficulties of central planning were described by economists Ludwig von Mises as “the economic calculation problem,” and by Friedrich Hayek as the “local knowledge problem.” As consumers we have a hierarchy of needs that is constantly in flux, and we signal those wants and needs with our marketplace choices. Planners cannot detect our preferences, nor allocate resources, better than the free-market’s price system.

Political philosopher Tibor R. Machan (1939-2016) made the point: “Without a market in which allocations can be made in obedience to the law of supply and demand, it is difficult or impossible to funnel resources with respect to actual human preferences and goals.” We should follow the evidence; free-markets can best address our preferences and goals.

Even if central planners, endowed with God-like powers, could read our minds for our desires, and could efficiently coordinate production accordingly; it could do so only at an unacceptable cost to our freedom and self-management. Central economic planning is incompatible with consumers being able to make free economic choices. A command economy necessitates political repression to implement its plans. We are better at fulfilling our wants and needs than the ghost in the machine.

Previous Post

The Bolivian “Sergio Moro” Aspires to the Presidency

Next Post

Brazil: Bolsonaro Battles to Privatize Major Electric Utility Eletrobras

José Azel

José Azel

José Azel is a scholar and author. Dr. Azel‘s latest book is “Reflections on Freedom.”

Related Posts

Political Trial Against Trump Conducted by Democrat Linked to Chinese Spy
Elections

Political Trial Against Trump Conducted by Democrat Linked to Chinese Spy

January 15, 2021
China Plans to Launch ‘Crypto-Yuan’ to Bolster Communist Regime’s Control
Asia

China Plans to Launch ‘Crypto-Yuan’ to Bolster Communist Regime’s Control

January 15, 2021
Purchase of Damaged Dollar Bills Is the Latest Unusual Business in Venezuela
Venezuela

Purchase of Damaged Dollar Bills Is the Latest Unusual Business in Venezuela

January 14, 2021
Purchase of Damaged Dollar Bills Is the Latest Unusual Business in Venezuela
United States

Donald Trump Will Not Be Dismissed

January 14, 2021
The Catholic Church Infiltrated by Globalists
United States

Trump Trial Won’t Free America from “White Supremacy,” Says Hillary Clinton

January 13, 2021
Donations That Compromise Joe Biden to Big Tech
United States

The Urgency to Remove Trump: Giuliani Calls for “Declassifying Everything”

January 12, 2021
Next Post
Brazil: Bolsonaro Battles to Privatize Major Electric Utility Eletrobras

Brazil: Bolsonaro Battles to Privatize Major Electric Utility Eletrobras

Discussion about this post

Subscribe free and never miss another breaking story

  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Privacy and Cookie Policy.