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Market Forces/Factors which Demand Intelligent
Government Intervention:
- The Free Market Economy
self-organizes a prosperous mutually beneficial system by simply
allowing the individuals comprising the society (people and
corporations) to maximize their pleasure and minimize their pain. Allowing individual
self-determination has proven the most successful model to create a
prosperous economy.
- The Republican philosophy of
government has embraced allowing the market to regulate
itself.
- Adam Smith's invisible hand has proven to
produce the most prosperous nation on earth
- The reason for this exceptional success is
probably multifactorial
- A market which allows personal effort to
produce personal reward results in a sense of control, power,
and security.
- The human heart has unlimited wants.
Some feel that drive more than others. Those driven
by the desire for more wealth can engage and satisfy that desire in
the market.
- The Free Market may be self correcting in the
long term, but it does not inherently fine tune itself.
But, if the
market is properly directed toward ecologically sound and progressive
technology then the market needs little
regulation.
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- However, if unregulated by
righteous law, the market may engage in excessive self-interest.
- The pure economic competition and
profit motivation can result in industry/business engaging in
practices with damaging cumulative effects.
- Such practices include pollution,
monopoly, and marketing low quality or dangerous products.
- These behaviors are the
economic/social equivalents of disease states.
- Proper regulation of economic
business practices by government levels the playing field so that unfair
advantage is not given to a corporation willing to take the road of
deception and collateral damage (e.g. environmental).
- The requirement to deliver
short-term profitability may limit the ability of the corporate world to
address long-term threats such as global warming and depletion of
resources. Thus,
governmental oversight, regulation, and enforcement may be required to
curb the appetites and conduct of the corporate
world.
- Corporations may not switch to a new
technology (that makes their installed production base obsolete) while
still heavily invested in a current technology. They may desire to continue
business as usual, capitalizing on their market share. They may wish to fully
depreciate their investment in an established technology and/or natural
resources before transitioning into a new technology. Profitability is far more
certain while engaging in an established market rather than
attempting to penetrate and survive in a new, less proven market.
- In other words, without the wisdom
and far reaching vision of an organizing directive, an economically
protected social system can delay implementing new technologies. Therefore, I believe it is
necessary for the government to take the leadership in directing
resources and effort into developing inexpensive, reliable, and
plentiful utilization of solar, wind, biomass energy generation systems;
hydrogen-fuel cell transportation systems; and
solar/geothermal/electrical desalinization technology.
- When the technology has matured
sufficiently, industry may begin to implement these technologies. Tax incentives may be necessary
to nourish and encourage these fledgling
industries.
- Full implementation of this
technology may take many years due to the scope of the infrastructure
installation required to produce a fully functioning hydrogen-fuel cell
based transportation sector.
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