John Stossel: The free market is voluntary - government is force

John Stossel addresses the bastardization of capitalism. “Capitalism isn't perfect. Some merchants lie, increasingly some merchants use political connections to get special privileges, but that's the exception. It's not real capitalism. Real capitalism is good because it's voluntary. Transactions happen only when both parties are happy with them.” Source: LibertyPen YouTube channel.

Transcript:

I was naive when the Soviet Union fell, I really thought now Americans will wake up. Because everyone can see communism fails. Boy, was I wrong! Progressives said: well, maybe communism failed, but capitalism isn't so good. We need to come up with something in-between.

My fellow Americans, we have found a third way.

I suppose you could say his third way is what we have today. Capitalism is allowed, but it's smothered in government. A doctor can run his own practice, but Obamacare sets the rules. Banks can invest in things, but they better obey every word in Dodd-Frank. Vaclav Klaus who became prime-minister of the Czech Republic after the Soviet Empire fell said: the third way – it's the fastest route to the Third World. I think he was wrong. Actual communism is faster. Cuba and Venezuela demonstrate that now. But the Third Way is bad too, because people can't prosper with this, when there are so many rules.

Politicians say these rules make life fairer, but years of consumer reporting taught me that life is fairest when people are free to make our own decisions. I had already figured that out by the time ABC sent me to Russia.

Part of the problem is the way decisions are made here. Let's contrast it with the way things work in the US. In a capitalist society the people have the major say as to what gets produced, because in a way we vote with our dollars. If we like a product, we buy more of it. And the manufacturers will quickly make more of it, because they want to make money. And the only way to make money is to give the public what it wants. If instead our economy were centrally planned, then the government would set production levels. Say, for records. And president Reagan might order tons of Frank Sinatra records but very few Twisted Sister records.

And hence you had long lines and shortages in the Soviet Union. Capitalism isn't perfect. Some merchants lie, increasingly some merchants use political connections to get special privileges, but that's the exception. It's not real capitalism. Real capitalism is good because it's voluntary. Transactions happen only when both parties are happy with them. Most every day I buy something from a store clerk. And every time something odd happens. They say: Thank you. And so do I. There's that odd double thank you moment.

Have a great day, thank you. Thank you.

Why the double thank you when I pay for a cup of coffee? Because she wanted the dollar more than she wanted the coffee. And I wanted the coffee than I wanted the buck. We both win or the transaction doesn't happen.

Today's leftists will claim that one party in that exchange exploited the other. And since Americans are taught that propaganda, if I ask the clerk other customers, some would say: it's true, the shopkeeper exploited me or I exploited the shopkeeper. But I think the automatic Thank you - Thank you moment tells the truth. The relationship is fair, not because the two parties are equal but, because capitalism is voluntary. And so nothing gets sold unless each party thinks we came out a hit. The free market is voluntary, government is force. Voluntary is better.

Translated by Jadranko Brkic