“An Amoral Market Economy Guarantees No One Freedom”

From page 333 of Cra$hmaker, this passage is delivered by Evgenii Stolypin in the State Duma and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly, the parliament of the Russian Federation. The Deputies were hotly debating charges that the on-going discussions between the Chairman of the Central Bank (of Russia) and an American Adivisory Committee  over a possible Russian gold standard violated the Central Bank’s constitutional duty to protect the stability of the rouble.

“Russia cannot save herself by aping Western democratic capitalism,” Stolypin warned the Deputies. “An amoral market economy guarantees no one freedom. To the contrary: it promotes the corruption of government. In the West, markets cater to consumerism. Unfortunately, many people cannot earn from voluntary transactions with others as much as they would like to spend. To obtain more income, they ask the state to steal for them from their fellow citizens. As more and more people use the state to supplement their incomes, the market provides the most efficient forms of lobbying, political action, propaganda, and other techniques for promoting redistribution of wealth—which becomes simply another product offered for sale. The society then cannibalizes itself through every variety of political looting.

“Where has democratic capitalism taken the United States?” Stolypin asked. “To the highest, most subtle and effective form of fascism—in which powerful interest groups conspire with politicians and the media to fool the people into lending legitimacy to a system designed to rob them at every turn. Friendly fascism that says Have a nice day! while it deftly picks the people’s pockets.”