Springtime for Stalin

Prudent Bear ^ | 2/26/2007 | Martin Hutchinson

[oblomov]

Martin Hutchinson is the author of "Great Conservatives" (Academica Press, 2005) -- details can be found on the Web site www.greatconservatives.com

The high tide of globalization, free trade and capitalism, which had seemed so irresistible in the 1990s, appears to be receding, even as the world economy continues to expand. In country after country, new economic experiments are being tried which have the effect of increasing the state’s control over economic matters. Not just a general swing to the center-left in world politics, this is in some respects a springtime for Stalin, and a proof that his dream of controlling all economic activity through a juggernaut state is by no means dead.

The normal electoral “swing of the pendulum” between two closely matched political philosophies is not something to worry about. In 1992 George H.W. Bush gave way to Bill Clinton, who in 2000 gave way to George W. Bush. We now know that 1992 did not presage a sharp move towards socialism; the Clinton health care plan never got off the ground. Similarly the 2000 election did not signal a return to free market capitalism; while Bush cut taxes initially he did nothing to rein in the growth of government spending, which quickly rebounded from its 2000 low point and continued to grow.

Similarly in Britain the 1997 transfer from economic management by John Major and Kenneth Clarke to economic management by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown did not signal a return to 1970s socialism. Indeed Brown’s first act in office, freeing the Bank of England from Treasury control, was an act of libertarian rather than leftist ideological intent.

Nevertheless, even in Britain and the United States, the drift towards statism over the last 20 years is considerable.

[oblomov]

A little bearish scone to go with your evening tea...

[Spirochete]

A little bearish scone to go with your evening tea...

Thanks :(