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Arthur Seldon

Capitalism 1st Edition

by Arthur Seldon (Author)

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Arthur Seldon's new book is a tenacious and elegant 'celebration' of capitalism despite its faults. Traditionally, socialist critics have contrasted capitalism as it is in the world we have known with socialism as it is envisaged in a world they have yet to demonstrate is possible. It creates a false debate that socialism must win and capitalism cannot win whatsoever its achievements. Furthermore, it confuses the people's choice between the 'capitalist hell' they know and the 'socialist heaven' they are promised. Using the methodology of the critics of capitalism in the opposite direction, the book places socialism as it is against capitalism as it could be.

Arthur Seldon argues that neither system is without faults and failures, but that an informed choice is properly made by assessing the degree to which they can be corrected. The book argues that, unlike socialism, the waknesses of capitalism are not inevitable nor fundamental to the system it creates and concludes that it is with capitalism that the choice must lie.

ISBN-10

0631125582
ISBN-13

978-0631125587
Edition

1st
Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell
Publication date

January 15, 1991
Language

English
Print length

436 pages
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Lars Bobson

Government Failure

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2013

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This is the third time I have read Seldon's book on capitalism and each time it strengthens my conviction in the superiority of free-market capitalism and the utter failure of the welfare state, communism, Fabianism and all other derivatives of Marxism.

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Junglies

Arthur Seldon's Magnum Opus...A Must Read

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2005

Arthur Seldon is little known in his home country, the United Kingdon or abroad except among classical liberals, libertarians and those who inhabit the strange world of think tanks. Yet this little known figure is one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and will one day be acknowledged as such.

Liberty Fund is publishing a seven volume Collected Works of which is the first and which presents two works: Corrigible Capitalism, Incorrigible Socialism and Seldon's magnum opus, Capitalism. The first of the two was originally published by the London based free-market think tank, the Institute of Economic Affairs of which Seldon was the first Editorial Director.

Corrigible Capitalism, Incorrigible Socialism is a reprint of a 1980 paper entitled 'A Credo for private Enterprise' which the author presented to the New Zealand Employer's Federation. This is a vigorous defence of the liberal market order in the face of a continued onslaught by the proponents of the socialist or mixed economy. Whilst Seldon's case is inspired by the Classical liberal case of the 19th Century, this paper can be seen as a further development from the Planning Debate from the 1920s and 30s. Seldon incorporates in his structure the post-war so-called Keynesian developments introduced the various socialist governments under the guise of Conservative or Labour and also takes a broader world perspective. Interestingly, Seldon makes the following comment about China:

"But increasing coercion will be required to suppress the trend to initiative stimulated by knowledge of the West, and it is hardly likely to survive the century. Forty years later in China, where the individualist trading tradition is stronger and markets are a Chinese cultural inheritance, the regime is less self-concious (or guilt-ridden) about the use of 'capitalist' devices, and the return to official recognition of markets is easier. For this reason alone China is likely to emerge economically stronger than Russia in the coming decades"

Yet who could tell in those early days of the Thatcher government who would heed Seldon and the liberals clarion call to the return to markets. While individual politicians may lay claim to the collapse of Communism, none of them have anywhere near the power of individuals to truck, barter and exchange. It is that power which brought about the demise. No more, no less.

In Capitalism Seldon celebrates the economic organisation. Writing from the perspective of one who began life in poverty and enjoyed a modicum of success through his own efforts in the marketplace despite many great adversities Seldon highlights the improvements of mankind which came about not through some central plan or social organisation but through individuals recognising an opportunity to produce goods and services which met a need expressed by the demand in the market. The unintended consequences of human action indeed. Seldon holds that as the textbook understanding of the economy suggests there may be market failure, then correspondingly it should be recognised that there is an equivalence government failure. Whether that failure is inherent such as destroying or altering the price signals which reflect consumer demand or which comes about from the involvement of politicians in the process who corrupt the market for their own ends (the economics of politics or public choice approach) Seldon recognises that there is no perfect system. Using an analytical approach much grounded in the Austrian School of Economics, Seldon sets out a case where private is at least as good as if not mostly better than public. He develops this approach by pointing out the natural tendency of markets to flexibility and therefore creating new structures such as property rights to overcome such failures whils the political processes set in stone many of the rules which become obsolete very quickly. To Seldon's credit it is his credibility which comes about through being no stranger to poverty which gives his case the authority it carries in contrast to the well meaning middle and upper classes who adopt top down approaches to resolving these issues rather than leaving it to the creativity and ingenuity of the people (the market) themselves.

All in all this is an excellent addition to the Liberty Fund library. To top it all off there is an excellent scholarly and succint preface by Colin Robinson who succeeded Seldon as Editorial Director of the IEA and who did sterling work in that regard.

This book is a must read for socialists and liberals (and conservatives) everywhere. There never has been such a heartfelt exposition of the case for Capitalism which has done so much to help so many throughout the world.

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SCOTT JOHNSON

A Must Read

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2000

What Ayn Rand does for philosophical reasoning, Arthur Seldon does for economical reasoning. Provides the reader with a firm foundation for arguing the free market proposition. Extremely reader friendly.

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San Patch

It's About Time Someone Said It...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2008

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Have you have ever wondered:

- Why do we in the West have living standards that far exceed those found anywhere else on earth?
- Why is it that a Harry Potter novel can be published and shipped overnight to almost anywhere on the globe where people can afford to read the story of the boy wizard?
- What has caused the most momentous increase in living standards in nominally Socialist China in the space of a decade?

Could the answers to the above be central planning? An efficient state bureaucracy perhaps? The resounding answer, as Arthur Seldon demonstrates in this seminal work, is the free market. By harnessing the power of individual self-interest, free markets have delivered economic growth, unparalleled prosperity.

Arthur Seldon defenestrates some popular socialist myth such as these:

- Before the NHS there was no health insurance;
- Before state-controlled education, schools in England were rubbish
- Government bureaucrats know better than poor parents in determining what form of social security and health insurance to obtain

Instead, the book argues that free markets can and do deliver better health insurance and choice in school selection. To demonstrate this point, he uses the examples of school vouchers in the US, where governments use a free market solution to give choice to poor parents. He contrasts the success of free market solutions to the state of the government-run NHS. Obviously, markets cannot solve all the problems that nations state face such as defense and policing.

But how did capitalism get such a bad name? How is it that at a time when former Communist countries, like Poland and China, are embracing free markets capitalism is in a funk in rich France and Germany. Indeed, commercialism (and the profit motive) are often derided in The Netherlands (where I live). Seldon argues that this is the case (especially in Europe) because of an education system that emphasises egalitarian values such as equality to the detriment of free markets.

Seldon makes a very important point that inequality is not necessarily a bad thing; inequality is a necessary condition for and by-product of free markets since markets reward those who take risks. If equality were forcibly imposed such as in the former USSR, then there would be no incentive for entrepreneurs to take risks. This would, in turn, retard the development of the society. Why is it that the most innovative, wealth-generating companies such as Google emerged in the United States and not, say, the former Soviet Union.

Free markets are not perfect. Ever so often, a deep recession (or even a depression) can weaken faith in capitalism. However, ever since the Great Depression, the free market - and the capitalist system based thereon - has shown a remarkable capacity to re-invent itself. According to Seldon, socialist thinkers like Marx, mistake capitalism's periodic crisis for its death knell. How wrong they have turned out to be.

At a time when it is almost rude to speak well of free markets (at least among well-educated Westerners) it is very refreshing that Arthur Seldon has penned a wonderful book that reminds one that even though free markets are imperfect, the economic system based thereon is the best we've got; the free market has delivered growth and preserved individual freedom. Read this book for some perspective; it deserves my 4 stars.

Frank Reibold

Kapitalistische Vision

Reviewed in Germany on September 23, 2006

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In diesem Buch zeigt der Autor zunächst in einem kurzen Aufsatz auf, dass man den Kapitalismus ändern kann und den Sozialismus nicht. Schon aus diesem Grund sei der Kapitalismus dem Sozialismus überlegen.

Den größten Teil dieses Sammelbandes nimmt das berühmte Buch "Capitalism" ein.

Meist wird dem real existierenden Kapitalismus ein idealisierter Sozialismus als vermeintlich bessere Alternative gegenüber gestellt. Der Autor vergleicht statt dessen den im Jahr 1989 real existierenden Sozialismus mit dem idealen Kapitalismus. Die entsprechende Vision wird gegen Ende des Buches entwickelt.

Man kann weltweit sehen, dass kapitalistische Länder erfolgreicher sind als sozialistische. Der Kapitalismus passt besser zum Menschen, weil sich sein größtes Übel (geringe Einkommen) einfach beheben lässt. Der Sozialismus beruht dagegen auf persönlichen Beziehungen; diese kann man nicht reparieren.

Der Autor behandelt alle gängigen Kritiken und kann diese an Hand von Argumenten verwerfen. Die berühmteste Kritik ist die des Marxismus: Der Kapitalismus wird an seinen inneren Widersprüchen zugrunde gehen und in den Sozialismus münden. Nun stimmt es zwar, dass es im Kapitalismus Krisen (Inflation, Arbeitslosigkeit) und Probleme (niedrige Einkommen) gibt. Diese Probleme existieren jedoch auch im Sozialismus, wo lediglich die entsprechenden Statistiken vom Staat unterdrückt werden. Wie man sieht, ist lediglich die Kritik an den teils niedrigen Einkommen berechtigt. Das lässt sich jedoch ohne bürokratischen Aufwand über eine negative Einkommensteuer ("Bürgergeld") beheben. Inflation und Arbeitslosigkeit entstehen nur durch staatliche Eingriffe in den Wirtschaftsablauf. (Ludwig von Mises hat schon 1931 gezeigt, dass der Staat über Arbeitsrecht, Regulierungen und Geldpolitik die Weltwirtschaftskrise verursachte, verschärfte und verlängerte).

Marx erkannte, dass die Politik von Interessengruppen beeinflusst wird. Diese sind jedoch in der Realität keine Klassen (Kapitalisten gegen Arbeiter). Vielmerh gibt es einen Konflikt zwischen Produzenten (Unternehmen, Gewerkschaften) als Lobbys und den Verbrauchern. Da wenige Lobbys mit viel Einfluss viel gewinnen, was von vielen Verbrauchern über Steuern bezahlt wird, fällt dem einzelnen Steuerzahler der Betrag nicht auf und es gibt immer mehr Lobbys, die ihn schröpfen (siehe "Wohlstand für Alle" von Ludwig Erhard). In der Marktwirtschaft werden Monopolen von der Übermacht der Verbraucher gezähmt und können sich nicht lange halten. Das ist der Grund, warum der Kapitalismus dem Sozialismus überlegen ist.

Die hohen Steuern und Abgaben des heutigen Sozialstaates drängen viele Bürger in die Schattenwirtschaft. Daran sieht man wieder, dass die Bürger Kapitalismus und nicht Sozialismus wollen.

Der Autor zeigt auf, dass der Kapitalismus die Menschen nach ihrer Leistungsfähigkeit beurteilt; Rassismus würde da nur schaden. Folgerichtig ist die Rassentrennung in Südafrika auch durch eine Zusammenarbeit von Regierung und Gewerkschaften eingeführt worden.

Dies sind alles Gründe, den Staat zu beschränken. Der Autor zeigt, dass es früher Gesundheitsvorsorge, Renten, Wohnungen und Bildung auf dem freien Markt gab. Auch hier sollte der Staat keinen Zwang ausüben. Ähnliches gilt für den Naturschutz; im Gegensatz zu den sozialistischen Vorstellungen der Grünen ist hier gerade mehr Kapitalismus nötig. Eigentumsrechte bzw. Lizenzen führen dazu, dass Luft, Wasser und Tiere geschützt werden (siehe "Wirtschaft für Dummies").

Der ideale Kapitalismus entspricht somit dem libertären Minimalstaat (Justiz, Polizei, Verteidigung). Dann kann die freie Marktwirtschaft ihren Segen entfalten. Im Minimalstaat haben Interessenverbände keine Einflussmöglichkeiten, was die Politikverdrossenheit senken dürfte.

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