NPR: Free Market Hypocrisy?

Free Market Hypocrisy?

A friend writes:

It seems like this is a ripe opportunity to do one of those Daily Show kind of things where you do a little research and show the titans of finance bellowing for release from the hand of government, singing the praises of the market and its perfect mechanism, and then grabbing at the public purse when they've made a mess of things and don't want the market to clean it up.

There's only one problem here: I don't see any hypocrisy.

Wait, wait, you're saying, isn't it true that they call for free market when they're doing well and then for a bailout when things go bad.

Yes. It's true. But they're not hypocrites. They're businesspeople. Not idealists.

They want money. They want profit.

When they make money on the free market, they call for the free market. When they make money through regulation, they call for regulation. When they make money through government bailouts, they call for bailouts.

They are entirely consistent.

The only consistent free market idealists I've heard of are economics professors, a small group of activists and, possibly, John Mackey, CEO, of Whole Foods.

BTW, business is not always anti-regulation. They are often big boosters of regulation for, again, selfish reasons. Bruce Yandle explains how this works.

UPDATED: Oooops.

I actually looked up the definition of hypocrisy:

a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not ; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion

My bad.

They're hypocrites.

Adam Davidson

9:01 AM ET | 09-17-2008 | permalink

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I can understand the issue with ensuring that AIG does not go belly-up. Too big, too many tentacles in too many places, too big of an effect on the economy.
BUT (and this is the BIG BUT), what happens to the US taxpayer IF AIG defaults on this $85B loan and goes bankrupt? Did the taxpayer just buy a lemon and gets stuck? Because if that is what would happen, then I don't see AIG paying off this loan, only delaying bankruptcy while they play with our money. And IF that is the case, then maybe it's time to stop bailing anyone out and just live with the consequences.

Sent by Alvena | 10:20 AM ET | 09-17-2008

How the hell then would you define "hyprocrisy"?

Sent by Jeffrey Slott | 10:21 AM ET | 09-17-2008

npr achilles heel -- asserting that hypocrisy is outrageous.

hypocrisy is dead, man. dead. nobody cares (except maybe the democrats). no joke. dead.

Sent by superf88 | 10:58 AM ET | 09-17-2008

they are hypocrites

Sent by ddaf | 12:09 PM ET | 09-17-2008

at least read his whole piece before posting, you lefty goofballs.

he's being sarcastic and declares them hypocrites there at the end.

Sent by yeesh | 1:21 PM ET | 09-17-2008

I don't think changing what you are (in favor of) from day to day is really hypocritical...

I mean, no one's *pretending* they're for regulation when they aren't or for free-market when they aren't. They really are for those things when they say they are. I think you were right the first time. Hypocrisy is all about image, none of these banks are lying about their desire for free-market or regulation because of how it makes them look.

Sent by Caroline | 1:24 PM ET | 09-17-2008

To paraphrase a friend (who probably borrowed the language): In the U.S. financial market, we have private profits but socialized loss.

Sent by David | 5:16 PM ET | 09-17-2008

Thank God Bush didn't get to hand over the Social Security Trust to private investment as he had campaigned for and tried to do.Is this the reform McCain is waiting to do to,as Reagan began with privatization with "the Republican Revolution"?

Sent by Jill | 11:50 PM ET | 09-17-2008

Hey yeesh, I don't think he was being sarcastic.

As for the original pre-updated post: If you live life without principles you can never be accused of hypocrisy.

Sent by Jerry Orlando | 1:23 AM ET | 09-23-2008

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