Thursday 5 February 2015

If a Marxist can understand the difference between being pro-business and pro-market, why can't many Conservatives?

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I mean it's not hard is it? Here's Chris Dillow:

...we must distinguish between business and markets. Business is about hierarchy and control; markets are about dispersing power. Markets are about competition, whereas business tries to suppress competition and seek monopoly power; the last thing big business wants is creative destruction. A pro-business government would seek to protect incumbents through red tape that strangles small firms; tough copyright laws; generous outsourcing and procurement policies; and tax breaks. A pro-market government would do the exact opposite, and do everything it could to promote competition. Governments can - and should - be anti-business but pro-market.

I'm a marketer. My professional colleagues have a simple job - to assist our clients or employers in creating monopoly (or die trying). Sometimes the marketing budget is used to lobby governments or regulators to change rules to limit competition (agriculture, banking, energy) and sometimes the marketing budget is used to try and persuade consumers that there isn't any alternative to the clients product (food, detergents, beer). Trust me on this folks, the former is a hell of a lot easier than the latter.

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