Cristian Lopac of Wabash College, writing at The College Conservative, is absolutely right, the free market isn’t stupid.

The problem is that Obama thinks we are.

The Free Market Isn’t Stupid

President Obama continues to espouse liberal thought in all areas. Recently, he remarked, in regards to government cuts “These cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls.” This is the same Keynesian propaganda we have heard since his first election campaign. Yet Keynesian thought has failed time after time. Government cuts will not negatively affect our economy. Government is the problem, not the solution.

Before a detailed discussion may commence, we must define President Obama’s economic philosophy: Keynesian economics. The Keynesian school originated from the British economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes based his economics heavily on mathematics and the idea that the government must regulate a bumbling free market. Employment is key to Keynesian thought, as well as viewing saving as “unnecessary.” Also vital to Keynesian thought is government spending. Keynes believed that governments should not try to balance their budgets, but tax and spend, adjusting the latter for the economy’s condition. Additionally, the government should intervene during depressions by instituting massive public spending projects. Keynes also believed massive wars and natural catastrophes are good, as they force more production, spending, and investment.

This very brief overview of Keynesian thought describes the Obama economic policy well. But if Keynes and Obama are wrong, then what is the solution? Let us answer this question by examining an economic philosophy of the free market and historical context.

Broadly, there exist many free market economic philosophies and thinkers. Some of the most well known thinkers are Milton Friedman, Adam Smith, Frederic Bastiat, and David Ricardo. While all of these men advocated for the free market, there is another economic school that provides a comprehensive, valid, and completely free market philosophy: the Austrian School.