In
a world where more than one individual wants the same scarce resources,
competition is implied. Hence, there arises among competing individuals the
conflict of who gets how much of what, and it is essential to establish some
rules for competition known as property rights.―――Irving Fisher and the Red Guards
Ambiguity
of statement can often pass for profundity――particularly
among the ignorant and naïve…[A]n idea which is not clearly stated can never be
proved clearly wrong. People can be more easily indoctrinated with fuzzy than
with clear statements. A people lacking widespread education will more easily
succumb to vague ideas.―――Will
China Go Capitalist?
Officials
operating with ambiguous rules can extend their authority under the guise of
obeying existing laws while actually advancing their own well-being or that of
special-interest groups.―――Will
China Go Capitalist?
Private
property rights do not preclude the choice of the same organisational forms
that operate in China. No law restrains American farmers from pooling their
resources to form a people’s commune identical to those adopted in China during
the Great Leap Forward… Indeed, American farmers would have chosen the commune
if it could have yielded them higher real incomes. The abolition of private
property rights, on the other hand, eliminates most of the institutional
options available in a private-enterprise system.―――Will China Go Capitalist?
It
is frequently observed that a decision maker in a communist or socialist system
is not effectively censured for a wrong decision, whereas under private
enterprise a mistake is self-punishing: it occasions a financial loss.―――Will China Go Capitalist?
Biologists
are now beginning to produce evidence that selfishness, like skin pigmentation,
is inherited and cannot be changed; indeed, it is the most vital survival trait
in all animals.―――Will
China Go Capitalist?