weSwinger writes:

“Somebody cheer me up please.
A Holy Ash Wednesday to the Belmont Club.”

Well, we certainly are getting our ashes. If there was a bright spot last night, it was in Bobby Jindal’s response to the Obama speech. Jindal understands the fundamental economic role of government, which is to provide, in the words of John Paul II, a widening sphere of exchange and prosperity.

I’ve noted Mancur Olson’s “Power and Prosperity” previously. Here’s a quick review, which perhaps provides elaboration of the insights of Mongoose and others in this thead:

“From Publishers Weekly [March 2000]”

“Olson, whose ‘Logic of Collective Action’ stands as a landmark work of political economy, died in 1998 before putting the finishing touches on this book. . . . Olson examines the complex relationships between the role of the state and economic performance, arguing that “there is no way of explaining the extreme poverty of many nations without taking account of the extent to which they are misgoverned.” The lay reader will . . . . value his excellent analyses of the economic machinations of Soviet-type autocracies, including a fine reading of Stalin’s diabolical manipulation of Russia’s tax structures. As the world attempts to salvage what’s left of the post-communist economies, it must contend with disablingly high rates of inflation and inefficient, state-owned businesses. The challenge ahead is not merely to hasten privatization, Olson says. Instead, economists must work to ensure that a “market-augmenting government” first secures individual rights to private property and guarantees the impartial enforcement of contracts–in his view the two essential ingredients for prosperity.”

Obama seems to be promising a “brave new world.” To which anyone who knows history might say, as Prospero wryly says to Miranda, “New to you, perhaps.”

The brave new world, i.e. of government in charge, seems to end in the way that Orwell envisions: a boot in the face.

But, hey, let’s spread that wealth around!