Brian Gongol
Show notes from the WHO Radio Wise Guys - October 25, 2008
Do governments need to subsidize recharging stations to help electric cars catch on?
Britain's Prince Philip, father of four, thinks the planet has too many people
More evidence that monarchical systems ought to be flushed promptly. The only reason anyone pays this man any attention whatsoever is that he happened to marry a woman who won the genetic lottery (coincidentally, he was already part of the family). He's perfectly within rights -- like any other human being -- to have an opinion on anything, including population control. But since he has no training or meaningful experience in the subject, his opinions should matter no more than those of some crazy old drunk at a pub. Sadly, people the whole world around listen to him and don't even know the name of Norman Borlaug, who has dedicated a lifetime to feeding the world's poorest people instead of prattling on about how there are too many of them. If we're not willing to call out the absurdity of listening to the nonsensical musings of a prince, how can we claim the moral high ground when it's time disclaim the lies and abuses of the Chinese Communist Party? There's a reason corruption runs rampant under Communism -- the people in power aren't accountable to anyone. While the UK is obviously a much freer place than China, it still needs an elected head of state.
"Authoritarian Asian capitalism is not about to triumph over the Western liberal variant"
The real power in a free market is in how it unleashes the productive capacities of individuals with great ideas. It only takes a handful of geniuses to make the world much better -- but those individual geniuses have to possess the freedom to express their ideas, even if those ideas are unpopular with the people who control the law. However, if we think of nothing but the current short-term troubles, we could very well make mistakes that will haunt us over the long term -- a long term which Indian and Chinese officials openly talk about. Reports of the death of Western economics are greatly exaggerated, particularly considering how much China's economy depends upon exports.
