13.05.2007
Laissez-faire & Libertarianism for Liberated Burma
_ By Dr. San Oo Aung
We all gained a lot of bitter experiences through the failures of successive governments led by U Nu, Gen. Ne Win, Gen. Saw Maung and Gen. Than Shwe.
U Nu’s short-lived democratic government failed because of_
- Lack of unity.
- Lack of practice of true Federalism.
- Corruption.
- Lack of transparency.
Ne Win’s Socialism failed because of_
- Dictatorship.
- Lack of Democracy.
- Nationalization of economy.
- State controlled centrally planned rigid economic policy.
- Leftist policies i.e. socialist planning
- Closed door policy.
- Corruption.
- Lack of practice of Federalism.
- Lack of transparency.
- Lack of Human Rights.
- Lack of Individual Freedom.
The previous SLORC and the current SPDC Military governments failed because of_
1. Dictatorship.
2. Lack of Democracy.
3. Lack of practice of Federalism.
4. Corruption.
5. Lack of transparency.
6. Lack of Human Rights.
7. Lack of Individual Freedom.
8. Ethnic Cleansing activities.
9. Suppressing and persecuting of Ethnic Minorities.
As we already knew the utterly failed results of socialist authoritarian policies, we cannot turn the wheels of history back and repeat the same mistakes, but we have to use the different ways such as really free market economies, unity under federalism, real democracy, respect of human rights for all citizens, guarantee of individual freedom, transparent corruption free government, and rule of law in our future democratic Burma. We all need to respect each other and look beyond the shallowness of skin color.
So, for Burma after her liberation from military dictatorship yoke, we need to consider the Political Right including those forms of liberalism that emphasize the free market.
How much individual liberty and government do we need?
The Nolan Chart is a political diagram popularized by the David Nolan. He created it to illustrate the claim that libertarianism stands for both economic freedom and personal freedom.
 Its two axes are: one from individualism to totalitarianism, the other from capitalism to collectivism. Its corners are capitalist individualism, anarchism, state communism and fascism. Differing from the traditional left/right distinction and other political taxonomies, the Nolan Chart in its original form has two dimensions, with a horizontal x-axis labeled "economic freedom" and a vertical y-axis labeled "personal freedom". It resembles a square divided into four quadrants, with each sample in the population assigned to one of the quadrants. |
 The
underlying principle of the Political Compass is that political views may be
better measured along two separate and independent axes. The Economic
(Left-Right) axis measures one's opinion of how the economy should be run:
"The Left" is defined as the view that the economy should be run by a
cooperative collective agency (which can mean the state, but can also mean a
network of communes), while "the Right" is defined as the view that the
economy should be left to the devices of competing individuals and
organisations. The other axis (Authoritarian-Libertarian) measures one's
political opinions in a "Social" sense, regarding a view of the appropriate
amount of "personal freedom. |
Laissez-faire or laisser-faire,
It is a French phrase meaning "let do". From the French diction first used by the 18th century physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it became used as a synonym for strict free market economics.
It is generally understood to be a doctrine that maintains that private initiative and production are best allowed to roam free, opposing economic interventionism and taxation by the state beyond that which is perceived to be necessary to maintain peace, security, and property rights.It is not the job of the state to intervene in the economy in an attempt to reduce inequality, poverty or protect worker’s rights.
Laissez-faire also embodies free trade, namely that a state should not use protectionist measures, such as tariffs, in order to curtail trade through national frontiers.
The term laissez-faire is often used interchangeably with the term free market. Some use the term laissez-faire to refer to "let do, let pass" attitude for matters outside of economics.
The laissez-faire means that the neoclassical school of economic thought holds a pure or economically liberal market view: that the free market is best left to its own devices, and that it will dispense with inefficiencies in a more deliberate and quick manner than any legislating body could. The basic idea is that less government interference in private economic decisions such as pricing, production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services makes for a better (more efficient) economy.
The free market would guide people to act in the public interest by following their own self-interest, since the only way to make money would be through voluntary exchange, and thus the only way to get the people's money was to give the people what they want. One appeals to their self interest, and pays them for their labour.
Most modern industrialized nations today are not representative of laissez-faire principles or policies, as they usually involve significant amounts of government intervention in the economy. This intervention includes minimum wages, corporate welfare, anti-trust regulation, nationalized industries, government linked companies, welfare programmes among other ways of government intervention as a way to provide a safety net for those without the capacity to find work or work because of disability, subsidy programs for businesses and agricultural products, and economic trade barriers in the form of protective tariffs - quotas on imports - or internal regulation favoring domestic industry, and other forms of government favoritism.
Libertarianism
It is the view that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person's right to life, liberty, and property-rights that people have naturally. All human relationships should be voluntary; the only actions that should be forbidden by law are those that involve the initiation of force against those who have not themselves used force-actions like murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, and fraud.
Libertarianism is a vision of how people should be able to live their lives-as individuals, striving to realize the best they have within them; together, cooperating for the common good without compulsion. It is a vision of how people may endow their lives with meaning-living according to their deepest beliefs and taking responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
The libertarian, or "classical liberal," perspective is that individual well-being, prosperity, and social harmony are fostered by "as much liberty as possible" and "as little government as necessary."
Some contemporary political positions, such as the position known in the US as Libertarianism , are very hard to characterize in left-right terms. These libertarians are socially liberal, but reject the leftist advocacy of government regulation of business, or the protectionism of the right. Arguably, their politics are the most similar to those of the "the libertarian, or 'classical liberal,' perspective is that individual well-being, prosperity, and social harmony are fostered by 'as much liberty as possible' and 'as little government as necessary.'
The central difference between left and right is that the left prioritises social equality, while the right prioritises individual responsibility and the maintenance of natural and inherent inequalities between people.
The most notable distinction of the right is in economic policy. The right advanced capitalism. The right advocate laissez-faire capitalism, tending toward little government intervention in the economy other than to control the money supply and little taxation except to support military and police functions.
More recently as new social issues arise, right wing views have been concerned with keeping "traditional" values (often religious values) and the preservation of individual and corporate rights through constraints on government power.
The values and policy concerns of the right vary in different countries and eras. Also, individual right wing politicians and thinkers often have individual priorities.
Conclusion
We must create a society based on the belief that human happiness is intimately connected with personal freedom and responsibility. The twin pillars of the system we create must limit the power of the central government and protect the individual rights.
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