There is no such thing as a purely market economy. It doesn't exist, and it never has. It probably never will.
The U.S. is as purely capitalistic as China is purely communist. Have a closer look-see, and you will soon realize that both economies are technically mixed economies.
If you live in North America, Europe, or, yes, even China, you are living in a mixed economy.
Below are common elements of such:
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Originally Posted by Wikipedia
Elements of a mixed economy
The elements of a mixed economy typically include a variety of freedoms:
- to possess means of production (farms, factories, stores, etc.)
- to participate in managerial decisions (cooperative and participatory economics)
- to travel (needed to transport all the items in commerce, to make deals in person, for workers and owners to go to where needed)
- to buy (items for personal use, for resale; buy whole enterprises to make the organization that creates wealth a form of wealth itself)
- to sell (same as buy)
- to hire (to create organizations that create wealth)
- to fire (to maintain organizations that create wealth)
- to organize (private enterprise for profit, labor unions, workers' and professional associations, non-profit groups, religions, etc.)
- to communicate (free speech, newspapers, books, advertisements, make deals, create business partners, create markets)
- to protest peacefully (marches, petitions, sue the government, make laws friendly to profit making and workers alike, remove pointless inefficiencies to maximize wealth creation)
with tax-funded, subsidized, or state-owned factors of production, infrastructure, and services:
- libraries and other information services
- roads and other transportation services
- schools and other education services
- hospitals and other health services
- banks and other financial services
- telephone, mail and other communication services
- electricity and other energy services (eg oil, gas)
- water systems for drinking, agriculture, and waste disposal
- subsidies to agriculture and other businesses
- government-granted monopolies to otherwise private businesses
- legal assistance
and providing some autonomy over personal finances but including involuntary spending and investments such as transfer payments and other cash benefits such as:
- welfare for the poor
- social security for the aged and infirm
- government subsidies to business
- mandatory insurance (example: automobile)
and restricted by various laws, regulations:
- environmental regulation (example: toxins in land, water, air)
- labor regulation including minimum wage laws
- consumer regulation (example: product safety)
- antitrust laws
- intellectual property laws
- incorporation laws
- protectionism
- import and export controls, such as tariffs and quotas
and taxes and fees written or enforced with manipulation of the economy in mind. |
Of course, not all mixed economies are the same. The U.S. is closer to a market economy, and China is closer to a command economy, but each have mixed in elements to stabilize certain features. In the case of the U.S., socialist programs and strategies were implemented as a means to provide for the basic welfare of its citizens and to influence the business cycle. In the case of China, capitalist strategies have blown open their global competitiveness and has advanced their technological development. However, the U.S. tends to value autonomy over offering benefits, and China has problems with individual freedoms. This is what sets them apart.
What aspects of mixed-market economies do you value? If there is much that you don't like, I'd like to know what you do like. If there is much you hold valuable, then tell me what you don't.
In my view, I tend to like most aspects of mixed economies as listed above. I credit these elements for Canada's relatively good mixture of stability, competitiveness, and fairness, even in light of the "Great Recession." The only thing I would take issue with is disproportionate spending or government regulation where it doesn't make sense or isn't in the best interests of the parties involved. The decisions must uphold a standard of decency, rather than unreasonable restrictiveness.
Canada hasn't always done well in this respect, but generally we've done better than many. For example, we need to fix problems with our nationalized health care, we have issues of brain drain, and businesses tend to think our taxes are too high. On the positive side, we do fairly well to support small business in a globalized economy, our banks are adequately regulated, and our laws are generally viewed as fair. I think we have a decent balance of freedom, law, social support, and regulation, which are the hallmarks of a successful mixed economy.
What do you think?