Liberal Response

This Month's Topic

What should the government role in the economy be?

The original liberal-conservative split was political: monarchy, order, and tradition versus democracy, revolution, and change. With the Industrial Revolution, the question turned to economics and the idea of "economic rights". It was unfettered markets and social stability versus workers rights and government involvement. In the post-Industrial Age, the issues may be different but the question remains: how involved should the government be in economic decisions?

Liberal Response:

Here is the basic reality: in a complex, global, and huge economy, the government plays a crucial role. The role is regulatory, budgetary, and monetary.

As far as limiting the role of government, we have done the experiment many times and the results are the same: poor. THAT is why we demand government involvement. We the people need some instrument to counter Big Money. We know that if we take our eye off of Wall Street, we pay dearly (Great Recession of 2008). If we take our eye off banks we pay dearly (S&L crisis of '80s). If we take our eyes off corporate behavior we pay dearly (WorldCom and Enron, 1990s). Can you imagine a stock market without an SEC (Great Depression, 1929)?

We are at a time when we need government oversight more than ever. It has been suggested that in our complex economy, that the "experts" on the inside should self-regulate. That goes against history and human nature.

— Editor

Conservative Response to this month's topic at A Civil Disagreement