Economic Philosophies

The role of government is to maintain economic and social stability and uphold the laws and rules of the land. While this idea has taken many forms throughout the centuries of this nation's history, one this is certain: the government is not perfect, but it does try to adapt to the changing times. However, while governments cannot change their policies on a dime, it does gradually transform itself over long periods of time. The concepts related to how much intervention government should play on the development or stability on the economy has been a experiment through the decades. In the Great Depression, for instance, the US government tried to let the economy correct itself out of the mess that some of the businesses had created. In this case, the government waited for "the invisible hand" of the market to fix its own problems. In the end, this was not to be, as those who wanted to help were too few, and those who were greedy maintained their old ways. Those who have do not necessarily care for the have-nots unless the world of the haves will truly crumble as a consequence. Having power and money is not contingent upon learning proper morals or ethics, even though it would be a benefit to the world if this was so. Coming back to the topic, it is seen that current government policies are more aggressive in stepping in to stabilize a failing economy, rather than using the failed laissez-faire philosophy practiced during the Great Depression. It is too early and also difficult to determine which methodology is the better of the two. Nevertheless, with the right intention and attention, I believe that a balanced and "dynamic" approach is required for a government to effectively oversee today's internationally mixed economy.