Fools with plans

This letter to the Wall Street Journal raises and interesting fact about economies vs. corporations. Donald's final comment is worth memorializing...

Crusading for a national "energy plan" and upset that WSJ columnist Holman Jenkins isn't on board, T. Boone Pickens asks rhetorically: "My father used to tell me that a fool with a plan is better than a genius with no plan. So I ask, what's Mr. Jenkins's plan?" (Letters, Sept. 2).

Contrary to Mr. Pickens's assumption, an economy is not simply a gigantic business firm. An economy is both incomprehensibly more complex than is even the largest multinational corporation, and it has no specific, overriding purpose comparable to a firm's goal of maximizing profits - a purpose by which the performance of each employee and each investment decision is relatively easy to evaluate. So while plans and some measure of central direction make sense for firms, comparable plans and direction for an economy are poison. They prevent the on-going decentralized, competitive experimentation from which spring not only progress that is unplanned, but progress whose details could not have been foreseen before they actually materialize.

The Soviet Union famously had plans for its economy; the United States did not. Which country was the fool?

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux

I also found it interesting that the WSJ is not on board with T-Boone's plan. Since converting wind and light to usable energy (electricity) is the least efficient source of power we currently have, I would have to agree that his plan has some major flaws. There is little probability that either of these source of energy will be able to produce more than 1% of the world demand.

Wise men hesitate where fools rush in.