Classical Liberalism
The RIGHT Choice!
So you want to be a Classical Liberalist?
Are you tired of all those Socialists and Communists trying to get you to join their club and get rid of your property? Do you want to be better and richer than your neighbors across the street? Do you want to be just like Bill Gates?
Well, you can do all the above! Just become a Classical Liberalist.
THIS COULD BE YOURS, IF YOU WANTED!
The Main proponents of Classical Liberalism
David Ricardo
David Ricardo is known for his ideas about free enterprise and wage control. He was a principal economic theorist who theorized that the wages of laborers should be kept at a minimal because their high rate of reproduction would ensure a surplus supply of labor. Competition among these laborers will drive wages down to this minimal level. This theory is known as the Iron Law of Wages.
Adam Smith
Adam Smith is considered to be the father of modern economics and the world's first free-market capitalist. He advocated in his book, The Wealth of Nations, of laissez-faire economic policies and the invisible-hand theory, which stated that there was a natural phenomenon that guides free markers and capitalism in the direction of efficiency. He believed that free-market economies (capitalist ones) are the most productive and beneficial to society.
Thomas Malthus
Thomas Malthus was a political economist, who espoused the relationship between food supply and populations. While food production tends to increase arithmetically, a population tends to increase naturally at a geometric rate, he argued. He believed that only moral restraint could check excessive population growth.
"It is not form the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." - Adam Smith
Ideas of Classical Liberalism
- Individual, private ownership
- Competition
- Limited government, laissez-faire economics
- Liberty of individuals with freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly
- Free markets
- Means of production owned by private firms
Membership Benefits and Advantages
- Freedom - you will have the freedom to do what you want, including where you work and what you buy
- Efficiency - you will face incentives to be efficient and produce goods which are in demand and will be graciously rewarded for your hard work
- Economic growth - with people facing incentives to be innovative and to work hard, a competitive climate of innovation and economic expansion is created
- Most importantly... YOU CAN BE LIKE BILL GATES, AND WHAT'S BETTER THAN THAT?
BILL GATES WANTS YOU TO BE A CLASSICAL LIBERALIST!
Drawbacks
- Monopoly power - private ownership of capital allows for firms to gain monopoly power in product and labor markets
- Survival of the fittest
- Inequality and social division - there is a giant gap between the rich and the poor
- No safety net
- Recession and unemployment - an economy based on the market of consumers and producers is inevitably going to experience periodic growth and decline
But who cares right? Social Darwinism will come into play and the lucky and smart ones, such as the members of the Classical Liberalist Club, will be the top predators.