MOSS MESSAGE
The Ultimate Free Market
Every politician talks about the Free Market. Some support it, others attack it. We have an entire political party—one that controls Congress and the White House—that opposes it. Speech after speech, law after law, regulation after regulation, many denounce and seek to eliminate the Free Market. But there’s one thing all American politicians from the hardest core conservative to the reddest of Bolshevik socialist Democrats have in common. All participate in the biggest, baddest, wildest, freest legal market in the country: the Political System.
A free market economic system is one where producers produce stuff and consumers choose what they want to buy, voting with their dollars. We call the producers “entrepreneurs, but a better word is “enterprisers.” These folks engage in “enterprise,” looking for opportunity in unmet needs and wants, then figuring out how best to supply those unmet desires. It takes initiative, ambition, hard work, guts, and ability for the Enterpriser and the failure rate is high. Successful ones get rich, but their success only lasts as long as the consumers want what they’re selling, which can change on a dime.
Every Politician a Producer, Every Voter a Consumer.
Our political system works the same way. Every citizen has a vote. People have needs and wants, and a potential to cast a ballot. Citizens are the consumers, and they decide which “producer “or politician they want to elevate. Successful politicos give the voting public what they want
Individuals of ambition and initiative decide they want to serve in elected office, so they become Enterprisers. They start a campaign committee, which is a business with its own profit and loss sheet. Sure, rich folks can subsidize their own political enterprises, but the bills rapidly mount up to scare even a Rockefeller or a DeVos.
Capital and Product.
To pay for their businesses, political enterprisers have to raise capital, which they call “fundraising.” There’s a lot of cynicism about this, but it’s really the most basic form of free market economics. The political enterpriser has to go to folks with money, can convince them that his or her “product” is worth an investment. Big groups, little groups and small contributors all can invest. These folks invest in “products” that they think will further their best interests and that of the common good.
Did I say “product?” Absolutely! The product of a political enterprise is the candidate himself or herself. It’s a package of the positions, principles, personality, character, and record of the individual candidate. The product is brought out under intense scrutiny of the consumers, in a ruthless competition which would make Adam Smith proud, with other enterprisers offering alternate products, each trying to convince the consumer to “buy.” Enterprisers can always roll out a new, innovative, or unusual product, but they have to convince the consumers it’s in their interest to voluntarily buy it.
The Consumers are Fickle.
Did I say “buy?” Sure! This product has to be “bought” by citizens, each with one vote they cast freely. Citizens can decide whether to purchase one “product” or a competitor, or not to buy anything at all and abstain from voting. The political enterprise has to market and sell the product effectively. It also has to keep up with the consumers’ perceived wants and needs, with are never changing.
The consumers—the voters—are as fickle as any group of customers. One election they want Blue State, the next Obama, next they’re Tea Party. The true Bosses of the system are the voters, who raise some enterprises up and cast others down. Past success is no guarantee of future victory. Today’s shoo-in is tomorrow’s one-termer. The most successful political enterprisers are those who stay in close touch with what they’re Bosses—the voters—want. They don’t always follow the fashion but they take time to offer value in constituent service, good policy, and constant listening to their customers. That’s why you see “fired” officials every election, while a Brooks Patterson remains successful for decades.
So Why Don't More Politicians Support?
Sure it’s not perfect…what is? Sure there are jurisdictions that are corrupted, where the market is restricted by various means. This no more disproves the political Free Market than the USSR disproved the economic one. The Freer the Market, the better and more honest the products available and the political standard of living. The fact that American politics as a whole may be the freest market in the Country may be surprising. However, the real mystery is why so many folks whose own careers are living monuments to the virtues and success of a free market, are so virulently hostile to extending the same institution to the economic sphere. Ignorance or self-serving hypocrisy? You buy the choice.
If you'd like to receive the Moss Messages, let me know at cjmoss20@hotmail.com
