Stefanie wrote:

...but the optimum level of law and regulation is only provable by time: the success levels of different economic and political models as future and history unfolds is the only judge

Can that judgment be made objectively and accurately? Do we not already have enough history by which to judge modern economic models?

i'm not sure it can be made objectively but i believe through the process of democracy and debate and by trying different models -- one model emerges -- just as I believe that democracy is proving itself by experience a better political model from the point of view of producing better governance -- as a system of solving social problems and dealing with the the stresses and strains produced by evolving societies -- my view of democracy is that it is like Trotsky's permanent revolution -- every few years we overturn the elements of the established order -- get rid of one executive and choose another -- democracy provides a model for the cascade of power down generations -- I would argue it is with struttering steps relentlessly taking over the planet -- 500 years ago there was only dynastic dictatorships across the planet and human history had only seen glimpses of democracy but the model took hold in Britain and stuck after the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when parliament became supreme -- it has spread in various guises across large swathes of the planet

i certainly think we have enough history to show that democracy is not only morally better but better from a utilitarian point of view and whilst we are broadly winning it is still a long road

regarding judging economic models -- certainly the command economies of marxist-lenism have demonstrably failed but despite US broad planetary economic dominance I'm not convinced that it has proved best so far. There has been a huge social price and looking at the current state of the US economy it strikes me that the dominance of a low taxation low social safety net high inequality model (compared with much of Europe [I'm sure you don't consider your taxes low]} remains a model among models. The US economy has vast powers of creativity and rejuvination -- Microsoft Google and much of the 21st century demonstrate that but society pays a price. So basically I think that no we don't have enough history but I think we're on the way. I think in time say a few hundred years people will look back at our age and wonder why we were blind to certain things.

i think we will converge on the best model -- I don't believe anybody has all the answers -- I don't think our models are there yet but it is an ongoing experiment with new challenges like climate change and promoting economic development across the world without destroying the planet -- as a species I think we're moving forward but there's a long way to go -- for the first time in human history the species might be said to have a single leader -- ie the the leader of the most militarily and economically powerful country -- yet it has always been a white male millionaire yet after jan 2009 things might change -- to me thats progress -- it's less than 100 years since women achieved the vote in the US and less than 150 years since the end of slavery -- i like the long view and whilst the personal circumstances for billions of our fellow human beings are hellish our species has developed fast and at an accelerating pace from hominid to me writing this and discussing it across the Atlantic with you. It's taken 13.7 billion years from Big Bang to here but only a couple of million from hominid to now and only a few hundred years since printing by Guttenberg and Columbus to here etc etc

i know that's a little off topic but i still marvel at it and maybe i'm being too pessimistic about converging on the best economic model but i'm fasinated by the process

RE: The Conservative Revival - New York Times