" ... crony capitalism is simply the cooperation of government and business. ..." - from your link.
Banking, Health Care, and Energy are the prime examples of crony capitalism.
Social Security could also be a free market idea. State Road Services could be a free market idea. There's all kinds of Government agencies that could become part of our free enterprise system.
Business enterprises started and operated with people's own ingenuity and private funding (non-Government funding) and guided by laws established to protect other people and the business owner is what "free enterprise" is. Viability is the idea that a business owner can operate at a profit.
Much of the U.S. Government could be part of the free market system, but that would mean relinquishing or giving up Governmental power over the free market system. NASA is another example of a Government entity that could become 'privatized', but Government elite thinkers (like Gringoo) wouldn't stand for it.
It's a great question and has a lot to do with Global Warming and how the Governments of the World use their power to try and direct free thinking humans (including scientists) into doing what they want to do. Government thinks it creates jobs and has an inherent power over the people. The opposite is true and always will be. It's unfortunate that there aren't more countries like the U.S. which gives opportunities for free thinkers and adventurists the stage to expound on human creative energy through capitalistic ideas.
Most people think that Individual Income Taxes are Constitutional when, in fact, the law was passed through Congress on a "majority" vote based on the majority of the actual Congressmen that were "present" and most of the Members of both Houses of Government didn't have a clue what had happened at Jeckyl Island prior to voting on this Act. "THAT'S CRONY CAPITALISM at it's finest hour!"
No. Green energy fails in the capitalist market because conventional energy resources are much cheaper. Anytime a government mandates and funds an industry that ceases to be capitalism. Capitalism requires a free market and choice. Government confiscates taxes and subsidizes an industry without consumer choice. That is not capitalism. It's cronyism. And it fails.
Peg is right of course but he tends to argue that socialism isn't bad because it is ubiquitous. He employs a "We shouldn't oppose crony capitalism because everyone does it", kind of argument. The government does indeed march lock step with Exxon Mobil and in fact they make more money from Exxon Mobil's product yet alarmists still like to pretend that EM is evil and government is the savior.
I think it is silly to pretend that fossil fuel industry which would prosper without government intrusion is comparable to renewables that would quickly die without them.
sGringo seems to forget Obamcare's website and Solyndra and other failed government projects. He sites "private" ownership in Germany as a success. They probably pay $8 a gallon for gas but costs never seem to matter to crony capitalists.
No part of the energy industry is free market capitalism.
EDIT for jim z: You said
"Peg is right of course but he tends to argue that socialism isn't bad because it is ubiquitous. He employs a "We shouldn't oppose crony capitalism because everyone does it", kind of argument."
It's good that you thought my one sentence answer was right, but then you go on to claim that I said all sorts of things that I have never said. Look at my answer again--it was only one line!!
The point I was making was that for a variety of reasons the energy market is NOT a free market, so it's not really surprising that the renewable energy industry is not a free market either. Look at the electrical power industry in general. In California at least, power companies profits are set not by how much electricity they sell, but instead by things like how much they spend on infrastructure.
We had a grand attempt at a free market system back in the golden days of Enron, in what was called "deregulation." It wasn't really deregulation, though, it was regulation that favored certain companies and actually eliminated much of the competition that it was supposed to spur. Not only did prices skyrocket, but there were completely artiificial shortages of power also. It was crony capitalism at its worst, in the name of the "free market."
That ends up being the problem with many "free market" solutions, many of the people pushing the free market are only looking to capitalize on some legislated advantage and call it the free market. Or else they want to operate completely free of governance, and not worry if there is a multi-billion (on the case of the financial companies, multi-trillion) dollar mess that has to be cleaned up by the taxpayers later.
No. Wind and solar are subsidized by governments. Even that does not work, as solar panel manufacturers have folded their tents. Wind farms are potentially hazardous. And no one builds them with their own money. Ask T Boone Pickens.
Renewable energy have nothing to do with capitalism.
If we talk just about industry, it just depends from people running industry.
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None. I use my own judgement, not that of a conservative blog which just leaves me two options.
Judging by Germany's real life example where Big Corporations just own a minority of renewable energy power, I'd say that renewable energy through government implementation isn't so bad.
Yes in the US anyway, although I am not familiar with other countries attempts to control pricing
Is the global warming denial industry free market capitalism?
...or is it crony capitalism?
...or is it crony capitalism?
Read this and come to your own determination: http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/library/business-and-economics/free-market-capitalism-vs-crony-capitalism
Which of the two do you prefer?
