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Government Success Stories
and
Free-Market Failures
By Steve Kangas
Is Big Government wasteful and inefficient? Are
markets really magical and innovative?
To a growing number of Americans, the answer appears to be "Yes." Ronald Reagan
and Rush Limbaugh have told us horror stories, like the entire roomful
of government bureaucrats whose job it is to look after a single Indian.
(The media investigated this story and, like most conservative anecdotes,
found it wasn't true.) Yet, like all dogma, an inviolate faith in the magic
of the market requires casting a blind eye to history.
What follows are numerous examples of government success stories and
free-market failures. This list is not meant to imply that socialism is
correct, or that markets are not the most efficient form of commerce in
most cases. If American society were heading down the road to socialism,
this webpage would be entitled "Government Failures and Free Market
Successes." But since American society seems to be headed in the opposite
direction, this webpage will attempt to restore a sense of moderation to
the debate accordingly.
Government
Success Stories
Free-Market Failures
Also:
The Invisible Hand
Problems with Privatization
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