Politics and Free Market Economy in Queensland - Case Study Example

Name Course Instructor Date Politics and Free Market Economy in Queensland The political demise of Mr Campbell Newman following the recently held elections in Queensland State might have come as a surprise to many. From an analyst point of view, election results clearly proves beyond any reasonable doubt that economics and politics are two sides of the same coin and failure on one side will automatically amount to failure on the other. The introduction of free market economy by Mr Newman’s government came as a double edged sword, meaning that in as much as it liberalised the economy of Queensland State, this system had its own very serious flaws which the government never seemed to have prepared for. On a positive note, thanks to the introduction of a free market economy, the citizens of Queensland State had the freedom of choosing various products and services to whichever proportions and extents. Investors and other business people also had the freedom of producing and selling a variety of products and were also able to improve the capacity any commodity with regard to variation in the market (Anis, Karodia, and Jadwat, 2013 p. 12). Despite losing in the elections, Mr Newman’s policy of free market economy made it easier to determine the prices of goods and services on the basis of supply and demand without the influences of either monopoly or oligopoly. Any economic decision that was pegged on the choice of goods to produce, to which market segment and the proportions to produce was highly determined by the forces of the market and not the state as it is in some regions(Medical economics, 2013, p. 80). Newman’s government had a very limited role in market economy which was to ensure that the prices that were charged by businesses were as transparent as possible. As a result, there was adequate and balanced allocation and distribution of resources throughout Queensland State which in other economic systems could only happen when a state of economic equilibrium is achieved. Back to the main reason why voters refused to re-elect Mr. Campbell for another leadership term, it was all about the unforeseen repercussions that free market eventually brought which made life a bit difficult for citizens of Queensland State. There were a lot of expectations that this economic system would eventually improve the living standards of people but surprisingly, this was not the case. One of the outcomes was that some of the essential goods and services initially provided by the government were no longer provided as they were left to be provided by private companies based on their good will (Hasan, Bulent Kantarci, and Karacan, 2015, p. 35). However, some companies chose not to provide certain commodities and services simply because they were less profitable. Citizens were not happy with the fact that private enterprises prioritised maximization of profit at the expense of meeting the needs of consumers. The citizens could no longer enjoy the unconditional services and products provided by the government, hence, one of the dangers that came with free market economy. It clearly drew a line between government and private enterprises. It became obvious that the government cannot choose to make profit over the welfare of the people (Ralph, 2011 p. 45). Free market economy had no delegation of the person responsible for provision of essential services such as housing, medical care and education in Queensland State. This system permitted the production of various goods and services of selected characteristics that private companies want for their products and dictated by their selfish interest of making profit. The result of this kind of freedom is that urgent economic needs of the population were overlooked (Schlesinger and Robert, 2011). In the case of Queensland, farmers were concentrating more on growing cash crops since they had much revenue in relation to the production of food crops. The consequence was therefore food insecurity as there was no adequate production of food to sustain the whole population. The little food crops that were available became very expensive the fact that the demand was higher than the supply. By adopting a free market economy, the government of Queensland under Mr. Campbell Newman was no longer able to control the prices of essential commodities because the system did not allow external forces to hinder its freedom. If this is anything to go by, then the political demise of Mr. Newman needed not to have come as a surprise. As mentioned before, the provision of public goods such as fire emergency services, transport and the lighting of streets was jeopardized given that they are not profitable. On the contrary, private enterprises in Queensland highly focused on production and sale of consumable products like alcoholic drinks and cigarettes because they are considered very profitable while ignoring other products were even more essential for the welfare of members of the public. Unfortunately, the gap between the rich and the poor continued to widen because the rich amerced a lot of wealth from their private enterprising that could not provide the poor with the basic goods and services that they needed for a better living. Issues of the environment such as the pollution and the supply of water were forgotten by private companies because they never had any direct income. Eventually, the free market economy resulted in wastage of public resources, degradation of social systems and economic instability (Stilwell, Frank, and Jones, 2011, p.165). It is true that a free market economy is facilitated by the spirit of entrepreneurism which highly encourages competition of various commodities in the market. Due to this, products that are of good quality are made available to members of the public at very affordable prices as well as giving them a variety of options to select from. However, such kind of a situation usually leads to the creation of monopolies. The citizens of Queensland were also not impressed with monopolies created by certain companies given that in a free market economy, no regulation existed within industries. All small and medium enterprises collapsed because of domination of big companies. Many people employed in the SME’s became jobless. It was very difficult for small businesses and other new market players to compete with well-established national and multinational companies.Thomas and Hemphill (2012, p. 29) write that because of this monopoly, the prices of various essential commodities became so high because of reduced competition. Monopolies have the freedom of shooting up the prices of all goods while at the same time increasing their availability. Consequently, majority of consumers from the middle and lower class had no option but to buy goods at those inflated prices despite the fact that they were not of very good quality. The focus of free market economy in Queensland was basically on rich citizens since they were the source of money. Most luxurious goods such were availed for them by private companies leaving the majority poor to suffer the hardship of accessing basic needs. The new culture created by this economic system was that goods and services were only produced to take care of the needs of the rich at the expense of the poorest of the poor. In other words, this system was all about survival for the fittest, such that the rich survived and became richer whereas the poor became poorer. Firms with good ideas and a lot of money to market their ideas did very well but the saddest part was that such firms were very few which meant that they did not employ so many people(Wolfson and Marty, 2012, p. 6). Life became even more difficult for majority of Queenslanders and this is most probably among the key factors that Mr Newman’s political rivals took advantage of to retire him from politics. From the above discussion, it has come out clearly that the adoption of free market economy could be a very serious mistake that any political regime can ever make. The system not only renders the production of essential agricultural products null but other services as well, ranging from transport, health and even security. One important fact that still remains is that the primary focus of a free market economy is largely on profit maximisation by major players of the market. Works Cited "Indonesia Must Not be Blinded by Free Market Ideology: Expert." Asia Pulse May 20 2011. ProQuest.Web. 21 Apr. 2015. "Why The Free Market Isn't a Cure-All For Healthcare." Medical economics 90.11 (2013): 80,80,74. ProQuest. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. Anis, Mahomed Karodia, and Ayesha Jadwat. "A Critical Opinion: Free Market CapitalismOr Authoritarian Drift Within a Socialist Agenda." Kuwait Chapter of the Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review 2.12 (2013): 1-4. Print. ProQuest.Web. 21 Apr. 2015. Beach, W.,& Kane, T., Methodology: Measuring the 10 Economic Freedoms, 2008 Index of Economic Freedom The Heritage Foundation. Washington DC. 2008. Print. Hasan, Bulent Kantarci, and Ridvan Karacan. “The Misusage of Free Market Economy and Turkey Example." Journal of Marketing and Management 4.2 (2013): 35-45. Print. ProQuest.Web. 21 Apr. 2015. Ralph, R. R. "Getting the Facts Wrong on Free Market Economy." Investor's Business Daily Dec 29 2011. Print. ProQuest.Web. 21 Apr. 2015. Schlesinger, Robert. "The Free Market Fails at Food Safety." U.S. News & World Report 06 2011: 1. Print. ProQuest.Web. 21 Apr. 2015 . Stilwell, Frank, and Evan Jones."The Failure of Free-Market Economics." The Journal of Australian Political Economy.65 (2010): 165-6. Print. ProQuest.Web. 21 Apr. 2015. Thomas, A. Hemphill. "Review of "Free Market Fairness" by John Tomasi." Journal of Markets and Morality 15.2 (2012). Print. ProQuest. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. Wolfson, Marty. ""Free-Market" Outcomes are Not Fair-and Not Free." Dollars & Sense Nov 2012: 6. Print. ProQuest.Web. 21 Apr. 2015 . Read More