Tariffs, Not Free Markets, Are JD Vance’s ‘Tool’
Mr. Hennessey offers a salient observation: Markets aren’t tools to be exploited or managed by politicians any more than democracy is such a tool. Markets are arguably more democratic than Washington. While lawmakers debate growth policies, markets quietly coordinate trillions of dollars in daily transactions. Millions of Americans choose which products succeed, which companies thrive and which innovations gain traction. These decisions happen in real time, not after years of congressional gridlock.
Such politicians as Mr. Vance believe technocratic planning can improve spontaneous economic coordination. But while executive-branch priorities whipsaw with each election cycle, creating regulatory uncertainty that stifles investment, markets provide the continuous feedback mechanisms that allocate resources efficiently. This decentralized system has generated unprecedented prosperity because it operates beyond political control.
Rather than treat markets as obstacles to overcome, policymakers should recognize them as democracy in action, where consumer sovereignty, not political planning, determines winners and losers.