| | I saw -The Commanding Heights- as a series on PBS. It shows the struggle between two views of society and the economy. One view favors the market as a vehicle wherein individuals and private firms decide how to allocate their resources and what they wish to buy, make or trade for. The other view sees government as the guardian and repository for the welfare of the people as a whole.
Britain had a forty experience with soft-socialism and State control of the major industries. It transformed Britain into an economic basket case. Ms. Thatcher seized the moment to turn things about and restore a modicum of sanity to the British economy. Tony Blaire, very wisely decided not to undo Thatcher's work.
The series was very good, and it laid out the struggle as the struggle of ideas and world views. The market approach is now in the ascendant. It is a long way from Simon pure capitalism, but it is a move in the right direction. Even the Chinese are giving up communism as way of shaping their economy.
For those of you who read comic strips on the news papers, I suggest you read -Andy Capp-, a satire on the kind of creature produced by British type socialism.
Bob Kolker
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