34. On Market Economy and Planned Economy:God Would Certainly Choose a Market Economy

Unless God Himself were to formulate economic plans, a planned economy could never succeed. If God were truly to design an economic plan, He would surely align with human nature, allowing each individual to determine their own economic path—and the outcome would still be a market economy.

Any nation that is truly democratic will inevitably adopt a market economy system. The core of democracy lies in empowering citizens to make their own choices, and these choices undoubtedly include economic decisions. When economic choices are left to individual citizens, the outcome is inevitably a market economy.

A market economy may not be the most perfect economic system, but for humanity, it is undoubtedly the best economic system.

Those who advocate for a planned economy are invariably authoritarian rulers or their lackeys, for they understand clearly that without control over the economy, they cannot maintain control over power. A planned economy allows the government to firmly control the economy. Once rulers in authoritarian societies discover this characteristic of a planned economy, they can never abandon it. This is the fundamental reason why every Chinese emperor regarded Emperor Wu of Han as his mentor. The state monopoly on salt and iron he implemented was a classic planned economy tactic, achieving the governance phenomenon of "the people bear no additional burdens, yet the state's resources are abundant." In reality, the notion of "no additional burdens on the people" was merely superficial. The government had simply changed its method of extraction. Previously, increasing state revenue meant directly raising taxes. Now, while taxes remained unchanged, the people were compelled to purchase salt and ironware sold exclusively by the state. By slightly lowering the quality of these goods or raising their prices, the government could boost its income. The additional revenue ultimately flowed from the people, making genuine "abundant state resources without increasing taxes on the people" impossible. Precisely because this state-run economic system possesses such profound deceptive power, it has been vigorously promoted by governments from Emperor Wu of Han to the present day.

Authoritarian rulers are well aware that state-owned enterprises inevitably yield lower economic returns than private enterprises. Yet state-owned enterprises can be easily controlled, while private enterprises resist such control. From the perspective of preserving power, state-owned enterprises are the preferred choice. The stronger the private economy grows, the weaker the government's control becomes. Therefore, supporting state-owned enterprises and suppressing private enterprises is an inevitable choice for authoritarians.

No matter how autocratic rulers embellish or extol planned economies, they cannot conceal the fact that such systems are chosen solely to consolidate their power. Historical practice has proven that planned economies yield far inferior results compared to market economies. Those who persist in glorifying and promoting planned economies despite this evidence are motivated not by public good but by private interests.

With the advancement of information technology, authoritarians have begun fantasizing about how to leverage IT to formulate superior economic plans. This is fundamentally flawed. No technological advancement can ever make a planned economy work, because authoritarian rulers prioritize preserving their power and rule over economic efficiency when formulating plans. Consequently, no matter how they design their plans, the outcomes will always benefit them at the expense of the masses.

Conversely, advances in information technology increasingly benefit market economies. Economic crises in market systems stem largely from two causes: first, blind production driven by information gaps disrupts orderly economic cycles; second, reckless lending triggers widespread defaults, further derailing economic order. Advancements in information technology can help governments effectively anticipate these issues. Upon receiving such early warnings, governments can proactively implement measures to prevent crises from escalating, thereby effectively averting economic turmoil.