I am not sure whether this particular comment has any direct relevance to the above post. Nonetheless…

I was just wondering whether the businesses keep quiet in the face of the government interference because of a return favour in the past, present or future time. The empirical evidence to support the above hypothesis will be hard to gather and confirm. Is it a price paid by the whole business community in return for the bail-outs, protection seeking against foreign competitors, and other such activities of the few firms…?

Anyways, the gradual rise of the state meddling into the affairs of the businesses is gathering pace and the mainstream media including the businesses themselves have been relatively quiet on the subject. The virtues of laissez- faire are scarcely talked about, much less considered in the public policy debates.

The “Freedom to Trade Campaign” is indeed a great work in the right direction… but its effectiveness with the people in the power is not immediately visible. Hoping that the campaign gathers momentum in these challenging times.

Thanks.