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Market and rules, free from the intrusion of “bad politics”

A culture of enterprise. Like a market culture. And also (and this is key) like a culture of rules, of fair competition, of transparency and of merit. A culture in which democracy and capitalism come together in a virtuous union. It’s not just theory. It’s actually possible, something that has already been seen, even if hindered, both in the past and in the present day and something that must be defended and reasserted. This concept is reiterated in the words of a talented Italian journalist, Pierluigi Battista, in a recent article of his in Corriere della Sera (20 January 2013): “There is still the idea, one that is highly popular among the fiercest defenders of the ‘moral issue’, that the market is a place of immorality and greed and that, therefore, any attempts to return to the market that which was taken away by politics can only aggravate the terms of the urgent ‘moral issue’.” In fact, it was a certain political intervention (at times aided and abetted by the worst businesses) that upset the Italian economy, that made the cost of public works and services rise out of control (thereby distorting the market), that brought corruption to weigh on public resources, and that prevented fair, competitive selection among companies. As Battista continues: “It is the market regulated by laws, not asphyxiated by greedy, invasive politicking, that limits the opportunities for the political parties to get something in exchange for granting authorizations and contracts, which should not be given as magnanimous concessions of – unregulated and invasive – public power, but rather rights granted. Rights of the individual. Rights of the taxpayers. Rights of businesspeople, who shouldn’t be forced to ask for favours. This is the real ‘moral issue’: seeing it as blatantly obvious that it is being bestowed like a favour when it could, and should, be exercised as a right.” “Less government and more market,” it has been said. But that’s not quite right. It’s more about having better government, one that regulates and controls a market that is more transparent and efficient. And it’s about businesses that nurture a better culture of competitiveness, of rights, and of duty.

A culture of enterprise. Like a market culture. And also (and this is key) like a culture of rules, of fair competition, of transparency and of merit. A culture in which democracy and capitalism come together in a virtuous union. It’s not just theory. It’s actually possible, something that has already been seen, even if hindered, both in the past and in the present day and something that must be defended and reasserted. This concept is reiterated in the words of a talented Italian journalist, Pierluigi Battista, in a recent article of his in Corriere della Sera (20 January 2013): “There is still the idea, one that is highly popular among the fiercest defenders of the ‘moral issue’, that the market is a place of immorality and greed and that, therefore, any attempts to return to the market that which was taken away by politics can only aggravate the terms of the urgent ‘moral issue’.” In fact, it was a certain political intervention (at times aided and abetted by the worst businesses) that upset the Italian economy, that made the cost of public works and services rise out of control (thereby distorting the market), that brought corruption to weigh on public resources, and that prevented fair, competitive selection among companies. As Battista continues: “It is the market regulated by laws, not asphyxiated by greedy, invasive politicking, that limits the opportunities for the political parties to get something in exchange for granting authorizations and contracts, which should not be given as magnanimous concessions of – unregulated and invasive – public power, but rather rights granted. Rights of the individual. Rights of the taxpayers. Rights of businesspeople, who shouldn’t be forced to ask for favours. This is the real ‘moral issue’: seeing it as blatantly obvious that it is being bestowed like a favour when it could, and should, be exercised as a right.” “Less government and more market,” it has been said. But that’s not quite right. It’s more about having better government, one that regulates and controls a market that is more transparent and efficient. And it’s about businesses that nurture a better culture of competitiveness, of rights, and of duty.