Cecil Bohanon and John Horowitz: Americans will lean back toward embracing free markets

With more than 6,000 newspaper columns, more than a dozen books and thousands of television appearances, George Will has been a leading voice in American political commentary for more than 50 years.

So when we had the opportunity to take a group of students to hear the 84-year-old legend speak at The Economic Club of Indiana on Sept. 22, we jumped at the chance.

Will can be described as a conservative with a strong streak of independent libertarianism. However, his views resist easy labels. He’s tough on crime but opposes the death penalty. He champions traditional values yet calls himself an “amiable, low-voltage atheist.”

Before the main event, we had the privilege of speaking with Will one-on-one. We asked him about his views on the future of free markets and the growing appetite in both parties for government control over business. Will agreed that interventionism is bipartisan. He cited the “golden share” provision that the Trump administration required in Nippon Steel’s recent $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel. That same day, the White House announced that Nippon had reversed plans to close a Granite City, Illinois, plant, under pressure from the commerce secretary. Will agreed that this kind of direct influence over private business decisions is reminiscent of Soviet-style central planning.

During the public interview, Will expanded on this theme: “When a president chooses the CEO of Intel or dictates production locations for U.S. Steel, those companies become arms of the government.” Will stated that “Trump leads the most left-wing government we’ve ever had.”

Will remains a passionate advocate of free trade. He reminded the audience that since the end of the Cold War, globalization has lifted more people out of poverty than any government program in history. He also expressed concern about the erosion of constitutional checks and balances. Congress, he argued, has abdicated its constitutional responsibilities by allowing presidents to impose tariffs unilaterally. This abdication is because elected officials are fans of government spending and tax breaks that appeal to their constituents. This, of course, creates our trillion-dollar deficits, which will eventually ruin our nation. Unfortunately, there seems a consensus among the political class that this can continue indefinitely.

Despite concerns about central planning, constitutional imbalances and fiscal profligacy, Will remains optimistic. Government intervention, a lack of fealty to the Constitution and perpetual deficit spending will all ultimately fail. Americans will eventually rediscover the enduring value of free markets, constitutional government and fiscal probity.•

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Bohanon and Horowitz are professors of economics at Ball State University. Send comments to [email protected].