{"id":12280,"date":"2002-10-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2002-10-28T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libinst.detail-digital.ch\/denkanstoesse\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/"},"modified":"2002-10-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2002-10-28T23:00:00","slug":"the-more-or-less-free-traders","status":"publish","type":"denkanstoesse","link":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/","title":{"rendered":"The “more-or-less-free-traders”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span> am often asked why Switzerland is so slow in the European Integration process. My favoured answer is: \u201eYou can’t go slowly enough in the wrong direction\u201c. The EU has been founded to promote free trade, but in fact it has turned to a bureaucratic, interventionist and egalitarian organisation governed by technocrats and soft-socialists.<\/p>\n

These days few opponents remain to free trade and to open markets. Most people advocate in general free markets but they like to combine the principle with restrictions and regulations in order to improve the results and to make the system \u201emore just\u201c, \u201emore rational\u201c, \u201cmore efficient\u201c and \u201cmore social\u201c leading to concepts which we could call \u201cmarket plus something\u201d.<\/p>\n

The days with free traders on one side and central planners on the other side are past. The controversy between free traders and \u201emore or less free traders\u201c however is more complex. What about these \u201emore-or-less-free-traders?\u201c<\/p>\n

Six types can be spotted:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. the interventionists<\/li>\n
  2. the protectionists<\/li>\n
  3. the subsidiarists<\/li>\n
  4. the redistributionists<\/li>\n
  5. the centralizers and harmonizers<\/li>\n
  6. the advocates of standardization (by which we mean coercive standards)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    All of them can harm. Their motives may be well intended but the results are – in the long run at least – disastrous. Although there is no ideological proof to back up this point of view, there is substantial empirical evidence for it.
    \nThe transformation of centrally planned economy to a market economy is often categorized as a change of system A to system B. Starting with this assumption we are always tempted to take the so-called \u201cgood elements\u201d from system A (socialism) and integrate them into system B (free market), in order to create a \u201cthird way\u201d system C, and thereafter to find a particularly attractive new label for it, such as \u201cNew Labour\u201d or \u201cRhenish model\u201d or \u201cPolder model\u201d. This kind of constructivism I firmly oppose. The difference between a socialist economy and a free market economy is not the difference between system A and system B, it is the difference between system and non-system.<\/p>\n

    All \u201cthird ways\u201d are still on the \u201esystem-side\u201c, they are just variations of socialism. What makes the difference is not \u201eindividualism versus collectivism\u201c,I am not against any kind of regulation. Free market without any regulations is utopism. It is a model, it is a good one, but it is far away from reality.<\/p>\n

    I don’t believe that all kinds of regulation can be abolished in one step. The first best option is for there to be no regulation. The second best is competing regulation in small units. Learning by comparing. Let us retain what stands the test of time and abolish whatever proves to be a failure!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8985,"template":"","tag":[656,520,658,657,655],"class_list":["post-12280","denkanstoesse","type-denkanstoesse","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tags-bureaucracy","tags-eu","tags-international-organizations","tags-political-competition","tags-technocracy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe “more-or-less-free-traders” - Liberal Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The “more-or-less-free-traders” - Liberal Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am often asked why Switzerland is so slow in the European Integration process. My favoured answer is: \u201eYou can’t go slowly enough in the wrong direction\u201c. The EU has been founded to promote free trade, but in fact it has turned to a bureaucratic, interventionist and egalitarian organisation governed by technocrats and soft-socialists. These […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberal Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/eu-sitz-flaggen-parlament.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/en\\\/food-for-thought\\\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/en\\\/food-for-thought\\\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\\\/\",\"name\":\"The “more-or-less-free-traders” - Liberal Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/en\\\/food-for-thought\\\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/en\\\/food-for-thought\\\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/eu-sitz-flaggen-parlament.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2002-10-28T23:00:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/en\\\/food-for-thought\\\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/en\\\/food-for-thought\\\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/en\\\/food-for-thought\\\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/eu-sitz-flaggen-parlament.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/eu-sitz-flaggen-parlament.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"Flags of European Union and Ukraine flutter outside EU Parliament building, in Brussels, Belgium on March 1st, 2022.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/en\\\/food-for-thought\\\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The “more-or-less-free-traders”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"\\\/\",\"name\":\"Liberal Institute\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Liberal Institute\",\"url\":\"\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/logo-liberal-institute.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.libinst.ch\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/logo-liberal-institute.png\",\"width\":2935,\"height\":458,\"caption\":\"Liberal Institute\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The “more-or-less-free-traders” - Liberal Institute","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The “more-or-less-free-traders” - Liberal Institute","og_description":"I am often asked why Switzerland is so slow in the European Integration process. My favoured answer is: \u201eYou can’t go slowly enough in the wrong direction\u201c. The EU has been founded to promote free trade, but in fact it has turned to a bureaucratic, interventionist and egalitarian organisation governed by technocrats and soft-socialists. These […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/","og_site_name":"Liberal Institute","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/eu-sitz-flaggen-parlament.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/","url":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/","name":"The “more-or-less-free-traders” - Liberal Institute","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/eu-sitz-flaggen-parlament.jpg","datePublished":"2002-10-28T23:00:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/eu-sitz-flaggen-parlament.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/eu-sitz-flaggen-parlament.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"caption":"Flags of European Union and Ukraine flutter outside EU Parliament building, in Brussels, Belgium on March 1st, 2022."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/food-for-thought\/the-more-or-less-free-traders\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The “more-or-less-free-traders”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"\/#website","url":"\/","name":"Liberal Institute","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"\/#organization","name":"Liberal Institute","url":"\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/logo-liberal-institute.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/logo-liberal-institute.png","width":2935,"height":458,"caption":"Liberal Institute"},"image":{"@id":"\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/denkanstoesse\/12280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/denkanstoesse"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/denkanstoesse"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.libinst.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tag?post=12280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}