Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Crass Commercialism vs. Crass Politics

Even more predictable than the post-Thanksgiving appearance of shopping-mall Santas is the inability of pundits at this time of year to say or to write "commercialism" without prefixing to it the word "crass."

I challenge this notion. Commerce is peaceful. It involves sellers working hard and taking risks to bring to market goods and services that consumers want to buy. No one forces anyone to do anything; all is voluntary.

What truly is crass is politics. Far more enlightened and ethical behavior is on display during any one day in a shopping mall than the most intrepid observer will find in a century on Pennsylvania Avenue.

~George Mason Economist and Cafe Hayek blogger Don Boudreaux

1 Comments:

At 12/18/2007 9:46 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I understand the relativism of shopping mall behavior being better than political behavior but as my favorite saying goes "anything times nothing". I agree commerce is good and people participate voluntarily, but then they whine about it and ask for reform and political involvement. A vicious cycle at best!

 

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