Last Monday, I was fortunate to attend a lecture by John Stossel, an investigative journalist most prominently known for his libertarian views. For the short time I have lived on campus, I have observed that a majority of students and many professors strongly identify with the democratic party and liberal views (a fact Stossel actually pointed out). While I agree with many socially liberal views, I have found I am in the minority in most other aspects of politics. Conservative views are not widely popular here. Listening to Stossel was a pleasant change from other speakers I have heard, most recently Richard Wolfe, a strong critic of capitalism.
In his address, Stossel discussed some of the misconceptions about capitalism. However, what I found more interesting was how he addressed misconceptions about government regulation on business. According to Stossel, regulation hasn’t made any real difference. For example the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, passed a series of workplace safety laws which set out to decrease workplace fatalities. According to data Stossel presented, these regulations, at first, appeared successful. However, he pointed out how OSHA, like many federal agencies, manipulate data and take it out of context to suit their needs. In this example the broader data showed that workplace fatalities were already on the decline for reasons that had nothing to do with governmental regulation. Stossel concluded that the laws passed by OSHA did little or nothing to actually improve workplace safety.
Stossel also explained that no one is forcing people to purchase products from any businesses. Companies become successful and prosperous because they serve their customers well and provide a product that people want. It is misdirect to feel animosity toward businesses that deliver products and services that make our lives better. According to Stossel, many anti-capitalists interpret someone’s gain as someone else’s loss. But as stated earlier, capitalism and the free market do not operate this way. Everything in a free market is voluntary. In other words, we freely choose to give a company money in exchange for a product or service we desire.
Unlike Wolfe, Stossel never became emotionally whipped up while discussing his economic stance. He calmly stated his opinion, and the facts that supported it, allowing people to take it how they chose. Stossel himself was unsure of a solution for our current economic problems. He believes we must simply experiment until we get it right. His only certainty was that government was not the solution. And while most were eager to applaud Stossel and what he was saying, even those not completely convinced by his views could not denounce his ability to capture the audience. Overall, I greatly enjoyed Stossel in every regard.