“Freedom for all, or freedom from none. There is no freedom for some.” – Anonymous

There are a lot of people that would argue an economy without regulation can not succeed because people are inherently greedy, and will therefore abuse laborers and resources taking all capital gains for themselves. They would use America’s Corporate environment as a prime example of this exploitation, but I and other Free Marketers would argue that America isn’t a free economy. Look at a list of countries by Economic Freedom you would find that we are only ranked around 17th in the world for Economic Freedom. Countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan all rank much higher on that list, and have a better quality of life than America (Taiwan didn’t make the list because according to a lot of U.N/ World organizations, Taiwan is a province of China). 

Now going back to the topic at hand; The Free Market works. If you look at the example of Singapore, They have very low unemployment, and an economy where private business activity is encouraged, and not penalized or stifled by over regulation. They have very low income and corporate taxes which is encouragement for market investment, and the low unemployment rate reflects that. Singapore has the 5th highest GDP Per Capita in the world. That is impressive for a country of 5.6million. The reason their GDP Per Capita is so high; is because they let the Market work. Singapore allows people to have a voice in the economy and the results speak for themselves, just look at what a beautiful place Singapore is.

To conclude, Free Markets do work. When you let the market loose with little to no regulatory measures the results of the human condition speak for themselves. People are more prosperous, and have actual pull in the advancements of a country when they have more economic freedom. The result is a beautiful high functioning society with loads of individual and business perks, that  also draws tons of foreign investment, and trade. I will do a dive on Hong Kong, and Taiwan another day, but they each have such a unique story they deserve their own write up. #FreeHongKong

Written by Caleb Hogan on ofthefreemarket.com on January 3, 2021