COMMON SENSE THE KEY TO BEST ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

Government, by definition, is coercive. Commerce, by definition, isn't. In her simple, brilliant Systems of Survival: A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politics (1992), Jane Jacobs made the case that the world will be better off when governments mind their own business. Now, in their fascinating The Origins of Globalization, Canadian academics Karl Moore and David Lewis advise us not to hold our breath.

After 5,000 years, they say, governments aren't apt to change now. The "mixed economy" is as good as it's going to get. In other words, economies must forever endure part slave, part free.

Globe and Mail, April 10, 2009