What “Laissez-Faire Capitalism”?
As the economic crisis continues, we’re constantly hearing critics blaming America’s alleged “laissez-faire economy” for somehow causing it. For example, the New York Times recently declared: “The United States has a culture that celebrates laissez-faire capitalism as the economic ideal.” Baloney, says renowned economist and syndicated columnist Walter Williams: “First, let’s establish what laissez-faire capitalism is. Broadly defined, it is an economic system based on private ownership and control over of the means of production. Under laissez-faire capitalism, government activity is restricted to the protection of the individual’s rights against fraud, theft and the initiation of physical force. … “You can decide whether we have an unregulated laissez-faire economy. There are 15 cabinet departments, nine of which control various aspects of the U.S. economy. They are the Departments of: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Education, Energy, Labo
