一個多禮拜前,一位網友與我分享了一則報道:據一家國際諮詢公司(GlobeScan)調查, 2010 年美國民眾對“自由市場經濟”的滿意度相比2009 年大幅下降,同意“自由市場經濟是是對世界的未來最好的體制”(“The free market system and free market economy is the best system on which to base the future of the world”) 這個statement 的美國人,只占受訪總數的59%（2009 年該比例是72%); 而同意這個statement 的中國人,則占該國受訪總數的67%！該機構發表的調查報告用了一個很吸引眼球的標題: “美國人對自由市場的熱情大幅下跌”（"Sharp Drop in American Enthusiasm for Free Market"), 而其他一些引用該調查結果的文章, 也用了一些相似的標題, 比如“美國人對自由市場經濟的支持度低於中國和巴西”("US Support for Free Market Capitalism Drops below China, Brazil")，並在互聯網上引起了熱烈的爭論。
首先我們來看一下調查的設計和操作。據報道, 該機構自從九十年代後期就開始做這個一年一度的調查,每年都在二十多個國家通過電話訪問和面談進行調查。2010年的受訪總人數為12,884人,分布在25 個國家。報道沒有提到這些受訪者是如何選定的,他們的年齡,職業,和其他社會經濟背景也都沒有具體描述。但這裡我們姑且相信,象這種專業的諮詢公司，做這樣的“routine opinions poll ”,在樣本的多樣化和代表性等方面應該是不會有太大問題的。在調查中,這些被訪者要對下面這句話做出回應:“自由市場體系和自由市場經濟是對世界的未來最好的體系”（"The free market system and free market economy is the best system on which to base the future of the world"), 選擇的項目有“強烈同意”,“部分同意”,“部分不同意”,“強烈不同意”,和“不一定”（下面的圖2 為各個國家的受訪者在這些選項的分布）。
而在中國和巴西, 印度等曾經的“計劃經濟”國家,引進自由市場體制卻使得生產力得到了極大的提高和發展，“讓一部分人先富起來”這個“資本主義”的理念,也使得人們的創造性和自主性得到了空前的發揮；這個“體制轉變”的結果,是這些國家在過去二十多年中經濟的騰飛和人們生活水平的大幅提高。因此,這些國家的民眾,對於給他們的生活帶來了實質利益的 “自由市場經濟", 才會有日趨正面的態度。當然，隨着“資本主義”體制在這些國家的生根發芽, 有很多深層的矛盾將會漸漸浮出，比如中國已經惡化的貧富分化問題; 而且, 許多經濟學家們並不認為中國今天的經濟體系是真正的“自由市場經濟”, 它實質上更象一個“國家資本主義”。用一位評論者的話來說, “在美國, 是企業控制國家; 而在中國, 則是國家控制企業 ( "In the US the corporations control the state; In China the state controls the corporations")。雖然自由的經濟體系被證明是最有效地提升一個社會的生產力的體制, 但它如何在持續的國家介入下保持這種優勢，是一個值得思考的問題。
"I think the economy should be driven by market, not by government.
However, market economy must be REGULATED by government, If everyone is trying to maximize his/her own interest, the group interest may be compromised. That is why there was a financial meltdown in US."
I think the economy should be driven by market, not by government.
If demand is created by government, such as highway, high speed train, Olympic games, World expo, it is not sustainable. Period.
However, market economy must be REGULATED by government, If everyone is trying to maximize his/her own interest, the group interest may be compromised. That is why there was a financial meltdown in US.
至於每年的訪問是否是同樣的一群人，這個更無從得知。不過，如果樣本隨機做得好，而且有代表性的話，倒是不必非得是同樣的受眾才能得到有可信度的結論（一般來講，跟蹤同樣人群 over the years 肯定比cross-sectional design 的要好，但操作起來要難得多，所以一般這樣的調查都是用 cross-sectional, not longitudinal ）。
Representative Eric Cantor H-329 The Capital Washington, DC 20515
April 24, 2011
Dear Representative Cantor,
I am sending this note to you, as well as to Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnel, and Representative John Boehner. I recently read an article forwarded to me by one of my professors, titled, "Sharp Drop in American Enthusiasm for Free Market, Poll Shows.” I am a social welfare policy analyst with a mission toward bringing social welfare programs into the 21st century; making them not only efficient but self-supporting. I am also a strong supporter of the free market.
PLEASE do your best to remind the American people that big business is not the problem; it is the greed and ardent power-lust of a few people--flesh-and-bone humans--that exploit the rich, the middle-class and the poor simply to enrich themselves. It is the job of the Congress and of the SEC to police these "people" with hard-line, reasonable and enforceable regulations and oversight – Congress and the Senate have failed miserably in providing us these critical services. The inability of the Congress of the United States to oversee anything is THE primary reason our economy is faltering - they are the reason hundreds of billions of tax-payer dollars are wasted through fraud and abuse and replication of programs!
PLEASE, remind the American people that we have the best economic system in the world. It is just unfortunate that we also have some of the worst people in the world running and overseeing these organizations. Unfortunately the finger needs to be pointed in the direction of these few that have made the situation so caustic and bitter. There is no better system in the world than the free market, coupled with democracy, individual freedom and responsible oversight. Fix the oversight, put these greedy people in prison and the system will run like an American watch. Redirect the blame to where it rightfully belongs – bad people and poor oversight. The problems are much easier to fix when the blame is laid at the feet of the real culprits.
