What’s a good book title for a hard-line Caplanian defense of laissez-faire, centering around the following theses?
1. Textbook complaints about free markets – externalities, monopoly, imperfect information – are overblown in theory, and even more overblown in practice.
2. Real-world markets deliver most of the textbook benefits of perfect competition, PLUS additional big benefits that aren’t in standard models.
3. Real-world government policies are only marginally connected to the textbook complaints. No government is remotely Pigovian.
4. On balance, real-world government policies make market performance much worse. E.g. immigration restrictions, housing regulation, public education, in-kind transfers, and universal programs.
5. The best case for government regulation is actually consumer and worker irrationality, but voter irrationality is far worse.
6. Free markets are awesome because they give business incentives to do good stuff that sounds bad. Governments are awful because they give politicians incentives to do bad stuff that sounds good. Since the correlation between what IS good and what SOUNDS good is quite low, this is a huge deal.
7. This awesomeness and awfulness are the main reasons most people resent markets and smile upon government. Economists rationalize government as a response to market INefficiency, but the primary motive is actually to force markets to focus on how things sound instead of what works.
8. Everything I’ve said applies for real-world redistribution, not just real-world regulation. Universal programs are absurd, and keeping out immigrants to protect the welfare state is absurd and perverse. The liberaltarian compromise is a terrible mistake.
9. The slippery slope from the most intellectually defensible government intervention to the actual crummy intervention is very real. So even seemingly trivial exceptions to free-market principles are playing with fire.
10. Free market policies deserve to win all over the world, even though they hardly ever do, and that’s sadly unlikely to change.
To repeat, for the time being I’m just looking for a good title for this book. Ideas?
READER COMMENTS
Ankur Aggarwal
Dec 28 2021 at 12:33am
“Not Even on Paper: Why Economic Interventionism Cannot Work.”
A C
Dec 28 2021 at 12:42am
Government’s Bad At Everything
Jose Pablo
Dec 28 2021 at 12:55am
“Don’t Judge a Policy by its Sound”
Godfrey Miller
Dec 28 2021 at 1:07am
“Bad Ideas That Sound Good: Why Government Is Terrible”
Regis Tool
Dec 28 2021 at 2:13am
Better demons of our nature
Silent Symphony…
Misheard symphony…
Irrational agents: blind to the hive mind…
john hare
Dec 28 2021 at 4:32am
Free Market or Slave Market, Pick On
How government intervention chooses
john hare
Dec 28 2021 at 4:33am
Pick One above, not On. sorry
Dann Thomas
Dec 28 2021 at 5:05am
Hands Off! Because Markets Work
RAD
Dec 28 2021 at 6:40am
econEmergence
D. F. Linton
Dec 28 2021 at 7:23am
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. May have already been used….
Jens
Dec 28 2021 at 8:13am
Fight fairy tales with fairy tales
Ben
Dec 28 2021 at 8:53am
The Inadequacy of Intentions
Alex Yauk
Dec 28 2021 at 9:07am
Sweet Nothings
Todd Ramsey
Dec 28 2021 at 9:26am
Atlas Shrugged
Eric B Rasmusen
Dec 28 2021 at 9:29am
Markets Don’t Fail; Governments Do
Marie
Dec 28 2021 at 9:31am
Let Them Sell Cake
Brad
Dec 28 2021 at 9:43am
We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident: Free Markets Free People
BC
Dec 28 2021 at 9:46am
Markets Now: How Private Sector Interventions Can Fix Public Sector Failures
Mark Barbieri
Dec 28 2021 at 9:52am
“Restricting Freedom isn’t Free”
“Free Markets Are Awesome”
Bacon Wrapped
Dec 28 2021 at 10:01am
Free the Market
Anthony
Dec 28 2021 at 10:19am
Am I wrong to be sensing a Caplan/Economics version of the Huemer/Philosophy self-published (but truly world class) introductory textbook? If it’s real, I can’t wait!
Joe Denver
Dec 29 2021 at 11:05am
I suspect Bryan is trying to implement his critique of Michael Huemer’s “The Problem of Political Authority”.
MarkW
Dec 28 2021 at 10:34am
Off the top of my head:
‘Paved with good intentions: Why people love government and distrust free markets’ Cover shows a badly-potholed street (I could take a snap of the one out in front of my house).
AK
Jan 2 2022 at 10:32am
This is the best idea here!
Scott
Dec 28 2021 at 11:02am
“Free Markets, Free People” or “Free Markets, Prosperous Markets; Free People, Prosperous People”
I like that these suggestions are undeniably positive, but worry they may pigeonhole the book in the minds of many who would otherwise give it a chance.
Andrew
Dec 28 2021 at 11:34am
Government Externalities
Kristian
Dec 28 2021 at 11:39am
“Sweet Nothings” (Because the state overpromises and underdelivers). Quick question, will you touch on universal healthcare in number four? That seems to be the lefts largest gift request to Santa; I would love to see a ‘Caplanian’ take-down of their most sacred cow.
Tim Lord
Dec 28 2021 at 12:25pm
How about “You’re Welcome”? 🙂
Kyle
Dec 28 2021 at 12:44pm
Why Markets Work Better Than You Think.
Pete
Dec 28 2021 at 12:54pm
Common Dissonance
Monte
Dec 28 2021 at 1:03pm
Squaring the Wheel: How Governments Complicate Prosperity
Monte
Dec 29 2021 at 12:08pm
Or, if you prefer:
Squaring the Wheel: Distortions, Disequilibrium, and the State (alot of useful illustrations here).
Unbridled Optimizing: Laissez Faire Tenets for Promoting Free and Competitive Markets
Healthy, Wealthy, and Warped: How Governments Cure Efficient Markets
Monte
Dec 31 2021 at 11:26am
Final notice:
Government Cheese: Intervening Obstacles and The Invisible Hand
Monte
Jan 3 2022 at 11:38pm
I couldn’t resist. This is a Rube Goldberg spinoff:
Uncle Sam Machine Contest: The World of Hilarious Intervention
Monte
Jan 4 2022 at 4:31am
Better yet:
Rube Goldberg Policy Ideas: The Hilarious World of Government Intervention
Monte
Jan 4 2022 at 6:41pm
Absolute last revision:
Rube Goldberg Policy Machines: The Whacky World of Government Intervention
SB
Dec 28 2021 at 1:04pm
The Liberty Pill – Why the world is not ruled by free markets, but should be
SB
Dec 28 2021 at 1:07pm
(The concept of ‘red pill’ is quite popular nowadays, and many people change or augment it by saying ‘the hawk pill’, ‘the God pill’, etc. So why not the Liberty Pill?)
Tom N.
Dec 28 2021 at 1:26pm
“Dumpster Fire Leviathan: How Even Libertarians Under-rate Free Markets.”
The cover image practically draws itself.
Jacob
Dec 28 2021 at 1:52pm
Brainstorming:
Bad Medicine: Why Government “Cures” May Be Worse Than the Free Market’s Diseases
Bloodletting: The Unexamined Costs of Letting Government “Fix” Our Free Markets
Less-Fair Economics: How Government Policy Destroys the Wealth of Nations
Less-Fair Economics: How Quack Government Cures Make Market Problems Worse, Not Better
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Poverty of Nations
Swallowing the Free Market Fly: Why Accepting Market Failures May Be Better Than Eating the Horse of Government Intervention
The Visible Hand: How Economic Interventionism Causes Market Failures
Other assorted subtitles:
How to Stop the Government from Eating the Free Lunches of the Free Market
Why Government Intervention Works Badly In Theory and Worse in Practice
How Letting Big Brother Watch Over Big Business Creates Even Bigger Problems
Why the Worst Monopoly is the One You Voted For
Infovores
Dec 28 2021 at 2:02pm
I like this one!
The Visible Hand: How Economic Interventionism Causes Market Failures
Maybe remove “Economic” or replace “Economic Interventionism” with “Government Intervention”?
I would like to see social desirability bias front and center in this book so maybe that theme should be in the title?
“Better than it Sounds: The case for Laissez-Faire”
John Alcorn
Dec 28 2021 at 2:54pm
Let Freedom Ring:
Radical Libertarian Economics
Kevin Dick
Dec 28 2021 at 2:54pm
You’ve Got It Backwards: Free Markets Work in Practice, Government Intervention Works in Theory.
Ben
Dec 28 2021 at 3:24pm
Economics in the Wild
Oliver Sherouse
Dec 28 2021 at 4:01pm
Moonwalkonomics: Why Progress Sets Us Back
Mark Brady
Dec 28 2021 at 4:06pm
Bryan, do you propose to discuss the basis for private property and distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate private property?
Peter
Dec 28 2021 at 5:29pm
Markets > Government
Geoffrey N Brand
Dec 28 2021 at 5:32pm
The Road to Serfdom Prosperity
With Serfdom crossed out.
Errikos
Dec 28 2021 at 5:59pm
Free markets are not perfect, governments are not making them better…
Errikos
Dec 28 2021 at 6:10pm
Or: Free markets are imperfect but governments are awful.
John R. Samborski
Dec 28 2021 at 7:47pm
I’ve got an idea for a title for a book about economics from a mostly laissez-faire point of view. I don’t know if it fits your book, but maybe you could use it for a later book. Have You Driven a Trabant Lately?
AMT
Dec 28 2021 at 8:10pm
The Myth of the Economically Literate Politician: Why Most Government Regulations are Worse than Worthless
With Friends Like These: Why Most Regulations Actually Hurt Those They Intend to Help
Andrew M
Dec 28 2021 at 11:07pm
The Theory and Practice of State and Market
Joseph Hertzlinger
Dec 28 2021 at 11:10pm
“Rose Soup”
It’s based on the following quote:
“An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.”—H. L. Mencken
Larry Phillips
Dec 29 2021 at 5:58am
“Life Is Better Than You Thought, But Not For The Reasons You Thought”
Jason Ford
Dec 29 2021 at 8:35am
The Emperor Has No Clothes
Isaiah Hunter
Dec 29 2021 at 10:39am
The Real World: Why Free Markets Outperform Academic Statist Theories
Zeke5123
Dec 29 2021 at 1:43pm
Free Market Economics: Doing Good is better than Sounding Good.
Ben
Dec 29 2021 at 3:27pm
Outcomes and Consequences: The Study of the Impacts of Markets, Choice and Government Policies
John P Palmer
Dec 29 2021 at 4:28pm
A side note:
You write, “No government is remotely Pigovian.”
I’m not sure it’s the right policy, but Canada has a carbon tax which is Pigovian in its attempt to induce people to use less carbon-based fuel. What’s more, people get a lump-sum carbon-tax rebate on their income taxes (or did) to try to keep the carbon tax revenue neutral.
Andrew_FL
Dec 29 2021 at 5:11pm
State Incapacity
Daniel B
Dec 30 2021 at 3:17am
Wow it’s like you read my mind for the type of book I wanted to read next :). Here are some book titles:
Nirvana-nomics: How Government Really Works – nice allusion to the nirvana fallacy. I’m iffy about the subtitle; another option is The Failure of Government
Government: Theory vs. Reality – probably too academic in tone, but concise. Might be a chapter title instead of a book title
The Case Against Regulation: Why the Market Works Better than You Think – this title sounds familiar 😉 another potential chapter title
Sam Harsimony
Dec 30 2021 at 2:29pm
Making Peace with Markets: How Markets Can Better Deliver What We Want From Our Government.
Joseph Valtharius
Dec 30 2021 at 6:16pm
Here’s a few suggestions:
The Case for Neoliberalism
Manifesto of a Market Fundamentalist
The Road to Hell is Paved with Textbook Econ Models
My personal favorite:
Real Capitalism Has Never Been Tried
Thomas Strenge
Dec 30 2021 at 6:40pm
From Bad to Worse: Government’s interference with consumer democracy
Robert A Gressis
Dec 30 2021 at 11:30pm
Better Than you Hoped, Worse than You Feared: Markets and Governments
That May Work in Practice, but Does It Work in Theory? Why People Think They Prefer Governments to Markets
The Freeconomist
Dec 31 2021 at 8:16am
Real-World Economics
David Q
Dec 31 2021 at 11:15am
To Free or not to Free:
That is the question
Grand Rapids Mike
Dec 31 2021 at 2:14pm
How to Avoid Making a Country a Sh$tH%le
Jonah
Jan 1 2022 at 5:40am
For some reason, spacing was deleted. Here’s a bullet list:
Free to Use: Opening Up to Your Partner About Libertarianism in and out of Bed
Economic Libertarianism for Dummies
Government Gridlock and Market Mana: Why More Freedom is the Answer to Everything
MARKETS MATTER: Why Government Fails
Freedom Across the Board: The Case for More Markets and Less Government
The Freedom Factory
Freedom in Fact
Market Maximum: Why government is the real externality
The Market Maxim: Three Truths About a Free Economy (You may have noticed I believe punchy, strong alliteration is key)
Homo Libertaria
Homo Economicus Libertaria
SEX: Now that I Have Your Attention, Economic Libertarianism Explained
Craig Fratrik
Jan 1 2022 at 4:36pm
The phrase that came up over and over was “real world”
Similar to a couple of the other suggestions:
Real World Economics
or
Real World Political Economy
or
Real World Economies and Governments
Steve Postrel
Jan 1 2022 at 7:22pm
Facetiously, Knowledge and Decisions. That book covered a whole lot of what you discuss here, with considerable nuance
More seriously, titles (unless specified, subtitles could be modularly swapped):
The Technocratic Illusion
Technocratic Delusions
There Oughta Not Be a Law
First, Do no Harm: A Hippocratic Oath for Government
Do-Gooders vs. Sound-Gooders
Just Say No: The case for abstinence in regulating markets
Government Snake Oil
Libeling Markets
Econ 101 Is Not Enough
Public Policy as a Last Resort
Beyond the Blackboard
The Fix Isn’t In
Subtitles (some are more complementary with specific titles than others):
Why markets sound bad but do good while government gets it backwards
How imperfect markets beat “perfect” policies
Why expecting government to “improve” markets is a sucker bet
Why experts and politicians can’t fix market “failures”
How democracy and technocracy give us the worst of both worlds
Demagogues, wonks, and the chimera of “fixing” markets
Ken Costello
Jan 2 2022 at 3:59pm
Don’t Believe Everything (or Anything) you Hear about Markets and Government
Carl K
Jan 2 2022 at 4:41pm
The Economics of Being
Lance
Jan 2 2022 at 6:59pm
Better than it Sounds Beats Worse than it Looks: How Market Outcomes Surpass Government Policy
The Road to Poverty is Paved with Good Intentions: How Markets Excel and Government Intervention Fails
Market Substance over Government Style: How Free Exchange Delivers What We Want
Louis J Forster
Jan 2 2022 at 8:54pm
Book Title:
Good Intentions, Not so good outcomes; Behold the Government
Knut P. Heen
Jan 3 2022 at 8:11am
The State Religion. Leftists have disbanded the old religions, and pray to the State to solve their problems instead (irrational voters). The book then goes on to falsify the proposition that the State will solve the problems. The leftist will then get angry thereby proving that it is a religion.
Paul Ralley
Jan 3 2022 at 11:21am
“Markets fail, use markets”
Matt
Jan 3 2022 at 2:04pm
“Bad In Theory, Worse in Practice: Why Even ‘Smart’ Government Intervention Makes Things Worse”
Gena Kukartsev
Jan 5 2022 at 1:14am
“A Case For Fair Lasses”
nate
Jan 7 2022 at 5:43am
I agree with the Real World sentiment. Maybe something like:
Government in the Real World
or
Government and Markets in the Real World
especially if it’s going to be heavy on examples of how governments actually perform in the real world. I still remember being a left leaning economics student and talking with one of my professors about market failure. I brought up some case for some market intervention and he said, “and how well do you expect the government to actually be able to do this in practice”. I seriously hadn’t really thought that hard about it and my libertarian rating went up a few points that day.
Rupert Cocke
Jan 7 2022 at 8:46am
Be Careful What You Wish For
Free markets deliver what you need, while governments give voters what they want – even if it doesn’t work
Rafael R. Guthmann
Jan 7 2022 at 5:40pm
Do markets need to be perfect to do better than the government?
Comments are closed.