Letter to the editor: Why free markets work

Letter-writer Stewart Epstein (“ ‘Socialist’ labels on Democrats a dishonest strategy,” Nov. 17, TribLIVE) presents a convincing argument but a superficial understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of socialism versus free-enterprise capitalism.

Ever wonder why a pure socialist economy has never been successful in any large-scale society? Or why people who emigrate to the United States from socialist countries often fear that we are becoming a welfare state?

Many books written by free-market economists like Henry Hazlitt, Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman illuminate Epstein’s misunderstanding of why, and how, free markets work much better than government handouts. Very simply:

1. Good jobs help the middle class, monetarily and personally, more than federal handouts.

2. Free-market opportunities increase our gross national product and standard of living much more effectively than government spending ever has, or can.

3. When Washington raises taxes or prints more dollars to pay for excessive social programs, painful price inflation results and robs wage-earners of the opportunity to be self-sufficient citizens.

So before you buy into Epstein calling himself a “social Democrat,” remember that socialist principles were propagated by Karl Marx, who in the “Communist Manifesto” illustrated that socialism is the first phase on the way to communism.

Ron Raymond

Buffalo Township