David Barash of the Chronicle of Higher Education writes:
Fortunately, the dead hand of Milton Friedman hasn’t pushed laissez-faire capitalism upon the Japanese, as it threatens the United States. The Chicago school of economics had nothing but disdain, for example, for building codes, arguing that the all-mighty market would simply discriminate against shoddy construction and that consumers, free to make their own informed choices, would reward builders who make safe and solid houses. Who needs a “nanny state” when the market is free to work its magic? In fact, we all do!
Here is today’s New York Times, again:
“Unlike Haiti, where shoddy construction vastly increased the death toll last year, or China, where failure to follow construction codes worsened the death toll in the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Japan enforces some of the world’s most stringent building codes.”
What has happened in Japan is terrible, and the surviors should be thankful for the strict building codes that undoubtedly saved many, many lives. But to attack capitalism is way off base because it is the wealth generated by capitalism that gives a society the ability to develop, implement, and enforce strict building codes.
Haiti is a destitute nation that has to worry about other needs first - having enough food and having shelter - before it can worry about ensuring that the shelter is strong enough to withstand the unlikely event that a catastrophic earthquake will happen. Once the basic needs are provided for, then other wants can be provided.
Japan, on the other hand, is a wealthy market-oriented country that has sufficient resources and knowledge - both by products of a capitalistic system - to allow them to design and implement strict building codes.
So it is not a question of capitalism or strict building codes. Capitalism leads to the ability to have strict building codes.
Rather than speaking ill of the dead, Barash should be thankful of the arguments for economic freedom that Milton Friedman gave while he lived.
Link via Glenn Reynolds.