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This word gets thrown out a lot whenever people bring up free market alternatives or solutions to existing problems. Is it just a smear term intended to imply dogmatism or a genuine misunderstanding of what free markets are and how they operate? |
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There is a substantial article on "Market Fundamentalism" on Wikipedia, here. "Free Market Fundamentalism" automatically links to the same entry. Is it just a smear term intended to imply dogmatism or a genuine misunderstanding... Based on the Wikipedia article, I would say yes, i.e., it's both. And more: a smear and a misunderstanding by people who evidently don't want to know the truth. ...how about filling it out a bit by describing some of the fundamentals of free market trade. A concise overview of the Objectivist philosophical position on "Free Market" can be found under that topic in The Ayn Rand Lexicon. For more detail and an extensive list of references, there is also Ayn Rand's book, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. |
The definition of fundamentalism tends to differ from the colloquial usage of it. Fundamentalism refers to following the fundamental principles of an ideology. Colloquially it can range form extremist violence in the case of terrorist groups to a slur indicating bigotry and ignorance.
Free market fundamentalism is a redundancy in the first instance, since deviation from the base principles invariably means it loses the 'free market' aspect.
Succinct and well put. Now, how about filling it out a bit by describing some of the fundamentals of free market trade.