I will start by enumerating a few observations:
1. Marxist-Leninism is a demonstrably failed economic ideology that has been exposed by history as at best impractical and thus only enforceable only by the application of tyrannical government force.
2. The prevailing western economic orthodoxy - Capitalism - has survived so far but that survival should not be mistaken for sustainability. It has significant flaws such that the absence of major reform almost certainly guarantees its eventual demise.
3. The free market and capitalism, though they share some important characteristics, ought not be confused.
4. The Free Market is preferable to Capitalism and societies prosper to the extent that they are free.
These observations lead me to the following conclusions:
- Humankind is possessed of inestimable worth, beauty, potential, intelligence and creativity. This is amply demonstrated, among other things, by how much has been harnessed from land, water, air and vegetation, along with their constituents. Apart from scientific and technological accomplishments, her moral capacity is abundantly displayed by ubiquitous daily acts of unheralded kindness, love, self-sacrifice and magnanimity that all can attest.
- There is nevertheless a darker side to the human persona that has necessitated the evolution of government as we have come to know it. The undeniable tendency towards taciturn individualism (selfishness) epitomises this reality. Thus, conflicting interests and anti-social behaviour have conferred a destructive blight to his otherwise recognisable grandeur.
- This dark bent manifests in his family relations, inter-ethnic interactions, business dealings and many of his social interactions. He lies, steals, murders, cheats and bullies. He colonises, enslaves, objectifies, wages unjust wars and stubbornly clings to irrational prejudices.
- This state of affairs naturally lends itself to lawlessness such that weak or non-existent government has always been associated with social chaos and ultimately the destruction of community, wellbeing and the suppression of his immense potential. This brings to mind the ominous spectre of the failed state that is painfully endured by some societies.
- The most effective form of government has been demonstrated to be the selection of trusted individuals by the society in question, for the primary purpose of preventing the anti-social behaviour of individuals from undermining the interests of the group. Democracy as generally understood seeks, with imperfection, to advance this ideal. The chosen individuals must then govern to the best of their ability with integrity and justice and in keeping with the ideals, values and aspirations of the governed.
- By virtue of their status as a sample of broader humanity, the chosen leaders are inescapably subject to the same spectrum of virtues and vices of the human population. This recognition necessitates the circumscription of their powers as well as accountability to the same laws that govern the broader population. In other words they are not above the law.
- Because of these realities, the ideal of completely unfettered markets can realistically only exist in degrees. The government must inevitably intervene one way or the other in trade and social dealings, either to enforce justice, to establish firm boundaries or otherwise to prevent some form of collective catastrophe against which disparate individual action is powerless.
- While there is value in developing simplified organising principles, models or ideologies around which the world can be understood, there is nevertheless the danger of dogmatism and oversimplification. The ideology trap thus lends itself to the unhelpful proclivity to fit the world into predetermined ideological moulds, even when it scarcely fits. It seems discerning that leadership is exercised with the kind of wisdom that takes account of the complexity and multidimensionality of the world and takes principled action keeping with the demands of the challenges at hand.
