Look, I'm a
@Wharton grad and a capitalist, meaning that I believe capitalism and free markets are the most efficient way of distributing goods and services worldwide and providing for the most economic benefits to the maximum number of people. But I'm also a Catholic priest who can see that free markets are not perfect. How can we tell? Just look around and see in even thriving capitalist economies millions of poor people, or, as they were often called at Wharton, the "transitional poor" (as if the poor are with us only until the ultimate flowering of the free-market system). Capitalism and free markets needs safety nets and they also need to be critiqued, regularly. Shutting down those critiques, or pretending that free markets are perfect, helps no one, especially not the poor. But of course who cares about them any longer?
I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning:
I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages.
We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.
There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.
I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.
I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t “hell yes,” then it had to be “no.” After careful consideration, David decided to step away. This is a significant shift, it won’t be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision. We’ll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction.
I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I’m excited for us together to fill that void.
Jeff