Daring Market Reforms

Jesse Walker | February 24, 2005

In a bold and radical move, Mongolia is privatizing its State Circus.

I don't know much about Mongolian politics, but I presume that's some sort of legislature.

Comments

|2.24.05 @ 4:48PM|#

Generally speaking, I thought the legislature was the state's circus.

(Such a cheap and easy shot.)

Jesse Walker|2.24.05 @ 5:09PM|#

Cheap and easy, but apparently easy to miss, given that I just made the same joke.

|2.24.05 @ 5:15PM|#

So now it's gotta be "Stevo Cheap & Easy", doesn't it?

|2.24.05 @ 5:40PM|#

Oh. Oh! Sorry, Jesse, I misinterpreted "I presume that's some sort of legislature" as meaning "I guess that's one hell of an interesting legislature they've got there, if they have to deal with issues like this."

Put me down for an extra helping of "duh."

|2.24.05 @ 5:42PM|#

Ken: Or just "Stevo Duh."

|2.24.05 @ 6:01PM|#

Anyone catch that Penn and Teller special on magic in China? They had a whole state-run academy for magic tricks and circus-style acts, and a big natural center for exhibiting them to tourists...that no one ever went to.

|2.24.05 @ 6:09PM|#

Big national center, that is.

|2.24.05 @ 6:11PM|#

Can clowns really smile while enduring the treachery and uncertainty of the market? I think not. The inevitable Market Failure will be just like the Great Depression. Just like it. Makers of big shoes and little cars will be out of work. Once they all upset established power structures in violent revolt, will you all be so comfortable?

Heartless bastards.

|2.24.05 @ 6:18PM|#

Well, selling off these things is probably, at least, some small stride toward liberty.

Jesse and Stevo, I misread Jesse's intro as; "but I presume there's some sort of legislature."
I guess sometimes the mind fits our assumptions into our reading...

|2.24.05 @ 7:05PM|#

Jason, if you're going to imitate gaius marius you can't use capital letters.

|2.24.05 @ 7:28PM|#

"Once they all upset established power structures in violent revolt, will you all be so comfortable?"

Well, I dunno...are they going to initiate violent revolt wearing those big shoes? Because no offense, but I think I can outrun them if they do. Also, I only drive a V6 sedan, but I think I can blow past their clown assault vehicles.

|2.24.05 @ 7:30PM|#

thoreau:

You know, despite the discussion gaius and I had been having, I wasn't consciously thinking of him when I wrote that. If I were, I probably would have thrown in some gratuitous lower case mr. so and so, and you are right, I definitely shouldn't have used capital letters.

Now my potentially successful mockery of general lefty argumentation has been turned into not a not so great gaius impression. Undone by context again!

Oh, well. You'll have to trust me. The shit was funny in my head.

|2.24.05 @ 7:41PM|#

yes, but mr jason ligon, it is a modern populist conceit to think that the masses should choose their own entertainment in a free market. for most of history societies have had their entertainment dictated by tradition. a subsidized state circus may be a stabilizing force in society, a buffer against mob rule. just like subsidized bread.

Well, that's my rather lousy attempt at an impression of Gaius Marius.

|2.24.05 @ 9:29PM|#

rampant individualism without an overarching framework of law is particularly unconducive to the long-term success of trapeze acts. all those bodies flying chaotically through the air amid shrieks of 'catch me now!' and 'oopsie!'

(ok, no one can do mr. gaius marius quite like mr. gaius marius.)

|2.25.05 @ 2:32AM|#

Jason,

i don't read gaius marius as a lefticus. am i righticus?

|2.25.05 @ 2:37AM|#

Rick-

gaius isn't a lefticus, but he is suspicious of individualism. Any time somebody praises free markets gaius will remind everybody that pure laissez-faire might not be all its cracked up to be. Fair enough, but usually the issue at hand is whether less regulation is better than more under the current circumstances.

Then again, gaius would probably also criticize regulation as a capitulation to populist sentiment.

Basically, everything is dismal and doomed and gaius is here to remind us that it's all due to rampant individualism destroying the fabric of society.

|2.25.05 @ 9:53AM|#

Also, I only drive a V6 sedan, but I think I can blow past their clown assault vehicles. = zeroentitlement

I hope so, 0e. Do you have any idea how many of their troopers one of those carries?!

Kevin

(Squeeze the wheeze. Honk!)

|2.25.05 @ 1:27PM|#

You say you don't know much about Mongolian politics. Why? The info is readily available. There's a great weekly, English language newspaper called "UB Post."

The Prime Minister, Elbegdorj Tsakhia (E B), is libertarian leaning. For instance, in 1997 he had Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" translated into the Mongolian language.

A few years ago he toured varius free market think tanks like Mackinac Center. And he visited Milton Friedman.

We don't hear much about Mongolia becaus since 1990 there's been a bloodless revolution and EB's freedom party has taken control from the communists.

EB is promoting English as the second language to replace Russian which came with the Russian control until the4 early 90's. control

|2.25.05 @ 3:32PM|#

Put me down for an extra helping of "duh."

Hee heee, loved that one.

|2.25.05 @ 5:44PM|#

thoreau:

Any time somebody praises free markets gaius will remind everybody that pure laissez-faire might not be all its cracked up to be.

I'll take your word for it that these are fair characterizations of gaius' writings. It surprises me since on foreign policy matters, I find gaius to be quite insightful.

It's my view that the evidence is that the closer to laissez-faire, the greater the gains in prosperity for the great bulk of the population and the more latitude for individual expression. Look at the relatively unregulated electronics industry. Children now play and learn on computers in their homes which exceed the processing power that was available to scientists only a scant number of years ago.

I think that it's state intervention in the economy that does not receive all the blame that is its due for the disasters it causes. The "energy crisis" of the 70's comes to mind as do the silent tragedies of human suffering and death that happen when government gets in the way of medical science and slows or blocks the coming to market of efficacious drugs.

...everything is dismal and doomed and gaius is here to remind us that it's all due to rampant individualism destroying the fabric of society.

That's nuts. Check out how the latitude of individual expression made possible by the internet is creating whole new communities of interest and bringing people together in ways that were impossible previously.

What ever might be dismal certainly isn't due to rampant individualism. In fact, it's exactly individualism that is lifting the darkness from peoples lives. In India the economic liberty of capitalism is bringing better food and shelter to common folks and it's crushing the social mores that limited the life choices for women by giving them opportunities for employment outside the home. (hey, sometimes individualism does "destroy the fabric of society.")

In the issue of New Scientist that's on the stands now, the social/scientific revolution in India is featured:

http://www.newscientist.com/contents.ns?articleQuery.queryString=issue:2487