Everything is Relative

by Don Boudreaux on July 24, 2006

in Politics, The Economy, Trade

Jagdish Bhagwati believes that the invisible hand of the market is feebler and less dextrous than I believe it to be.  Nevertheless, he recognizes the important point that the relevant comparison is not of the invisible-hand’s actual performance to some imaginary ideal performance.  Instead, the relevant comparison is of the invisible-hand’s actual performance to the actual performance of the visible hand of government.  As Bhagwati observes, "the invisible hand may be frail, but the visible hand is crippled."

[This quotation is found of page 31 of Bhagwati’s book Free Trade Today (Princeton University Press, 2002).]

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