From the Quotation of the day mailing list, 2009-04-13:
"And here the political world is divided into two groups. There are those who praise the free market because to do so gives cover to themselves and their friends in raiding the public trough. These people call themselves 'conservatives,' and one of the truly galling things for real conservatives is that they have both usurped the label and spoiled the reputation of the real thing. And there are those who praise the 'free market' simply because they fear that, otherwise, they will be exposed as heretics, accused of being socialists, perhaps even driven from public life. This is the case of many liberals. Reflexive invocations of the power of markets, the 'magic' of markets, and the virtues of a 'free enterprise system' therefore remain staples of political speech on both sides of the political aisle. However, they have been emptied of practical content, and the speakers know it." -- James K. Galbraith, from his book The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too.
(submitted to the mailing list by Terry Labach)
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