Keynesian economic theory took a swift rise in popularity and became the standard economic model during World War II, I won’t delve into the entire theory because this article is not about that but if you’d like to know more about Keynesian economics you can get a neutral, educational introduction from this free Khan academy video.
or if you’d like to go more in-depth on the topic you can read a detailed criticism of Keynesian theory here.
Keynesianism
Keynesian economic policy has instilled itself in many governments around the world and this is for many reasons that we can get into, for example Keynesian theory not only justifies but advocates for a currency monopoly to be held by the state, a high amount of government intervention in the market and most of all State regulation of interest rates. As many libertarians are already aware the State loves to expand its power and influence since it grants them more security as a State but also further control over its population so Keynesian theory is a perfect fit for national interests.
So what’s up with the Keynesian model, well it incentivizes and advocates for the State to subsidize consumerism, government intervention in the market to ‘stimulate the economy’ and in terms of Keynesian economics that means more spending not saving, these interventions include but aren’t limited to printing money otherwise known as quantitative easing, adjusting interest rates relative to inflation to deter saving and subsidizing the production of various resources to reduce the cost of products on the shelf.
Environmentalism
Now many environmentalists will claim that they need to use the awesome regulatory powers of the State to achieve a greener society one example is a charity organization called ‘clear the air’ who state on their website “(We are) working with the government and stakeholders to find practical solutions to air pollution in Hong Kong” what does that entail?
Well it entails the introduction of emission laws, higher taxes and MORE GOVERNMENT FORCE!
Why do these environmentalists who are generally pro-state and pro-regulation never consider the idea that the big governments required to enforce these regulations also require an economic model that subsidizes consumerism and naturally leads to over-production of resources (due to an increase in demand) which as a result has contributed to severe environmental damage especially in countries such as China, the industrial production capital of the world?
The fact is you cannot be an advocate for two contradictory things at once, you cannot claim to be for the environment whilst supporting an economic model that is causing over-production and simultaneously destroying said environment; it is quite funny however that environmentalism seems to be the one thing that Statists think they have in the bag and it Is so, so far from the truth.
To learn more about Austrian economics, free markets and voluntary solutions visit one of the many resources below:
www.schiffradio.com
https://mises.org
https://www.dollarvigilante.com/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Anarcho_Capitalism/
