Is Mexico on the verge of collapse?

The US military is reporting that a sudden collapse of Mexico is a possibility, according to a story in the El Paso Times.

Mexican “politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and press by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state,” according to a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command.

The command’s “Joint Operating Environment” report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Mexico on the same level as Pakistan, the Times reported.

Mexico underwent a bloody and destructive revolution between 1910-20. An estimated 1 million-2 million were killed, and another 900,000 emigrated to the US, to get away from the violence.

Just a reminder, Mexico is the third-largest importer of crude oil to the US.

Why capitalism is the answer, not the problem

Laurence M. Vance does a nice job of standing up for capitalism in this article on the Ludwig von Mises Institute’s website.

Mr. Vance takes the occasion to recommend two quality books, for use by those tired of hearing the free market system poor-mouthed, or for those who simply want to learn more about capitalism.

 ”The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism,” by Robert P. Murphy; and  “How Capitalism Saved America: The Untold History of Our Country, from the Pilgrims to the Present,” by Thomas J. DiLorenzo are, unlike far too many books dealing with economics, both written in easy-to-understand language.

While Mr. Vance does a nice job of summarizing both books, the real jewel in his piece rests in the final paragraphs, where he correctly points out that capitalism itself is not the cause of the US’s crumbling economy because the US has been moving away from a true free market economy for many decades.

“Capitalism needs no adjustment. It needs to be understood and put into practice. Not only is capitalism never the cause of a financial crisis, it is always the cure. Government intervention is never ever under any circumstances the solution to any problem, large or small, economic or otherwise. When will men ever learn that more government is not only never the solution, it is usually part of the problem?

“Real capitalism — that is, capitalism based on secure private-property rights, sound money, the division of labor, social cooperation, freedom of contract, freedom of association, voluntary exchange, and the absence of government control, oversight, and regulation — is the answer to the current economic crisis.

“Not state capitalism, not crony capitalism, not mixed-market capitalism, not fascism and interventionism under the guise of capitalism, but unfettered, laissez-faire, free-market capitalism.”

Amen, brother. Amen.