The Triumph of Conservative Free Market Capitalism

The age of monarchs and a peerage economy ended with the French Revolution. The age of empire was largely past by the end of WW II. The 20th century saw a fierce competition of economic and political models to determine the answer for our time. The three most prominent models were free market capitalism, socialism, and communism.

Communism is a rejection of the individual for total collectivism. All parts of the economy are owned collectively by "the people". As such, the representatives of the people, the "Party" and its government centrally planned and controlled every aspect of production and trade. Theoretically everyone shared equally in the success and failure, with no bourgeois capitalists to accumulate a larger portion of the country's wealth. Politically all discourse and commentary was completely controlled by the state. The implementation of Communism was a totalitarian state; individual civil rights did not exist.

Socialism favors heavy government intervention and control of key aspects of infrastructure and the economy. While not as centrally planned as Communism, there is a large degree of state ownership and control of key sectors. Socialism relies on heavily regulating companies and many aspects of production and trade to achieve social goals such as massive entitlements for the population. While typically democratic in nature, Socialism still favors collectivism over individual responsibility and success.

Free market capitalism promotes less regulation, low taxes on savings, investment and capital, and minimal government intervention in the economy. Free market capitalism is most often combined politically by political conservatives who favor individual rights and responsibility. When combined together an operating model emerges that encourages entrepreneurship and investment and rewards success. Capitalism relies on the fact that "markets" are more efficient that government planning to achieve economic success.

The failure of Communism's central planning model has been universal. One of the last holdouts, Cuba, is economically devastated. Buildings and infrastructure are crumbling. Most of the cars are patched together models from the 1950s that were there when Batista was overthrown.

But throughout the world conservative principals combined with free market capitalism are exploding. The world watched closely as America emerged from WWII as the greatest economic power ever known. As the 2oth century progressed the dominant success of free market capitalism as the surest path to prosperity became undeniable. The implementation and refinement of supply-side principles during the Reagan administration capped a century of economic and political success.

Today, this amazing phenomenon is transforming the world. Free market capitalism and conservative principles are being implemented in country after country. In fact, only in the U.S. are these conservative, free market principles not considered highly progressive.

France has elected a conservative President intent on reforming an economy and society that have stagnated for so long under the shackles of socialism, unionism and protectionism. Supply side tax policy is being implemented throughout the world. 18 countries now have a flat tax. Poland has announced its intention to implement a 15% flat tax. Germany, France and the U.K. have slashed their corporate tax rates. The "Irish Miracle" speaks for itself. A new National Bureau of Economic Research study has found that countries with low tax rates on business have statistically significant higher rates of new business formation, investment and income.

Capitalism is transforming Vietnam in a way that Johnson, McNamara and Westmoreland could not. China continues to be a totalitarian state, but capitalist reforms have resulted in an exploding economy that is building a middle class that is demanding greater individual rights. The market capitalization of the global stock market stood at about $13 trillion in 1994. Today, it is over $50 trillion! Free market capitalism has created a synchronized global economic boom that is unprecedented.

Conservative, progressive free market capitalism has become the greatest agent for positive change in the world. Let's call it "Market Liberalism". Only in the U.S., where the Democratic Party and its liberal surrogates wage war daily on prosperity and individual success, do we risk retreat from the most successful political and economic model ever seen.