Archiwa Events - Fundacja Wolności Gospodarczej

How do the participants in the Freedom Games view capitalism? A small survey by the EFF

Karolina Gemza — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 13:40:26 +0000

The Economic Freedom Foundation has supported the Freedom Games for several years. At this year’s edition, at the EFF stand, participants were able to share their reflections on capitalism. We contrasted them with the content of Capitalist Manifesto by Johan Norberg.

Among those who took part in our survey, positive associations predominated: capitalism means poverty reduction, efficient accumulation of resources, freedom. We can find confirmation of these observations in Johan Norberg’s book.

Does capitalism reduce poverty?

There is a belief among some that capitalism only fuels the growth of poverty. In his book, Johan Norberg frequently refers to the economic transformation that has taken place in many countries and points out that “contrary to the World Bank’s claims but according to its own data, seemed to have decreased from 38 to 29 per cent in the 1990s.” Interestingly, the situation is improving all the time, as the poverty rate fell “ from 29.1 per cent of the world’s population to 8.4 per cent” between 2000 and 2022.

Norberg devotes considerable attention to examining the relationship between the degree of freedom of an economic system and the wealth of a society. Comparing the 25 per cent of countries with the most liberal economic systems with the 25 per cent of countries with the least liberal approach, it can be seen that GDP per capita in countries with greater economic freedom is more than seven times higher, while extreme poverty, in countries with more restrictive economic rules, is sixteen times higher.

Efficient use of resources

Norberg argues that economic liberalization forces participants in many activities to consider not just the appropriate distribution and utilization of resources, but also their appropriate accumulation. As prosperity increases, less and less of our consumption is about material goods and more and more about services, such as care, entertainment, education, research or design. This is because “the automation of manufacturing means that we can devote a shrinking share of our purchasing power to its products.” Thanks to this phenomenon, more and more attention has begun to be paid to the human resources.

As a result of the liberalisation of economies, as well as democratisation, workers’ rights have started to be taken care of and their work is more valued. It is also often argued that, as a result of the automation of the production process, there will be fewer and fewer jobs and it will be more and more difficult to find one’s way in the labour market, especially for those who were predominantly engaged in manual work. Johan Norberg argues to the contrary. “Instead, automation creates complementary industries and frees up purchasing power to hire more people. Current research shows that an increase in automation in a factory by 1 per cent actually increases the workforce there by 0.25 per cent after two years and 0.4 per cent after ten years.”

How do we create reality?

One person attending the Freedom Games wrote: “Capitalism is my reality”. This seemingly obvious statement aptly reflects the essence of capitalism, in which the individual shapes his or her own reality. It can be applied to different spheres of life, in particular finding oneself in the labour market.

Johan Norberg notes that “the free market was the sort of economy that followed when people were given the right to shape their relationships and collaborations, and to exit them if they became exploitative.” Although it is not perfect and instances of exploitation, bullying and other inappropriate behaviour towards workers do occur, workers’ capabilities are increasing thanks to capitalism. One can also observe the increasing proficiency of the young, who, thanks to the diverse range of universities, both public and private, have the opportunity to train for their chosen profession or create jobs themselves.

The basis of capitalism is the principle of reciprocity, which Norberg interweaves through “The Capitalist Manifesto”. Opponents of the free economy claim that the system works against the consumer or worker because it only favours the profit of the rich. This is not true because, as the author of the “Manifesto” points out, capitalism is “the only system that meant that, if you were to earn anything, you had to serve others and give them the goods, services and rewards they wanted.”

Alicja Jakimko, Economic Freedom Foundation

Artykuł How do the participants in the Freedom Games view capitalism? A small survey by the EFF pochodzi z serwisu Fundacja Wolności Gospodarczej.

Europe Liberty Forum 2022 – EFF as official partner

FWG — Wed, 04 May 2022 11:41:40 +0000

Europe Liberty Forum 2022 – EFF as official partner

Autor: FWG

The Economic Freedom Foundation and the Civic Development Forum invite to the Europe Liberty Forum 2022 organized by the Atlas Network. This year, the event will be held on May 12-13 in Warsaw.

Events04.05.2022

Europe Liberty Forum is one of the largest conferences of the liberty community, bringing together Atlas Network partners, think-tank representatives and liberals from around the world. The event is organized by the Atlas Network – an American non-profit organization that helps establish and strengthen a global network of free-market think-tanks. The organization is considered one of the most important free-market think-tanks in the United States. The conference was to be held in Kyiv, but was moved to Warsaw due to the ongoing war.

During the two days of the conference, there will be no shortage of interesting panel discussions and opportunities to meet inspiring people. Panelists include many representatives of organizations supported by the Economic Freedom Foundation in Poland – the Civil Development Forum, the Mises Institute and the Freedom and Entrepreneurship Foundation.

Speakers at the event include Johan Norberg of the Cato Institute, Brad Lips – CEO of Atlas Network, Tom G. Palmer – Vice President of Atlas Network, Leszek Balcerowicz – former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Ivan Miklos – former Minister of Finance from Slovakia, Marek Tatala – CEO of EFF, Sierž Naurodski of CASE Belarus, Nataliya Melnyk of Ukraine’s Bendukidze Free Market Center and many others from Europe and the US.

The conference will cover important and current topics such as how to preserve Ukraine’s freedoms and independence, how we can achieve energy independence in Europe, or what are the common misconceptions about liberalism and how to combat them.

The conference will be held in Warsaw’s Sofitel Hotel. The organizers do not anticipate an online broadcast.

The registration form can be found on the Atlas Network website. There is a fee to attend the conference, and the panels will be held in English. There will be a discount for students.

Agenda:

Thursday, May 12

8:00 – 9:00 – Registration

9:00 – 10:30 – Opening Remarks & Cornerstone Talks

10:30 – 11:00 – Morning Break

11:00 – 12:00 – Concurrent Session: Emergency Powers and What We’ve Learned So Far

11:00 – 12:00 – Concurrent Session: Dignity, Work, and Innovation

12:00 – 12:15 – Break

12:30 – 14:00 – Lunch Program: Seeking Peace and Liberty in Europe

14:00 – 15:15 – Keeping Ukraine Free and Independent

15:15 – 15:45 – Afternoon Break

15:45 – 16:45 – Concurrent Session: Living in Large Cities: Zoning and the High Cost of Living

15:45 – 16:45 – Concurrent Session: Energy Independence in Europe: What is the Solution?

16:45 – 18:00 – Break

18:30 – 19:30 – General Reception

19:30 – 22:00 – Europe Liberty Awards Dinner

Friday, May 13

9:00 – 9:45 – Breakfast with the Authors: Combatting Common Fallacies around Capitalism

9:45 – 10:15 – Morning Break

10:15 – 11:15 – Concurrent Session: Free Trade in Europe and Beyond

10:15 – 11:15 – Concurrent Session: Tax Competition Among and Within Europe

11:15 – 11:45 – Break

11:45 – 12:45 – Concurrent Session: Refugees and Asylum Seekers: What is the Free Market Response?

11:45 – 12:45 – Concurrent Session: Inspiring the Next Generation of Think Tank Involvement

13:00 – 14:30 – Think Tank Shark Tank Luncheon

15:00 – 16:00 – Concurrent Session: Feminism and Classical Liberalism

15:00 – 16:00 – Concurrent Session: Rising Inflation and the Change of Economic Cycles

Artykuł Europe Liberty Forum 2022 – EFF as official partner pochodzi z serwisu Fundacja Wolności Gospodarczej.

Should Poland join the euro zone? Conference: ”Euro: Security Zone”

FWG — Sun, 01 May 2022 11:13:39 +0000

Should Poland join the euro zone? Conference: ”Euro: Security Zone”

Autor: FWG

,,Euro: security zone” conference took place at the Radisson Collection hotel in Warsaw on April 26, 2022. It was organised by Res Publica Foundation and Economic Freedom Foundation to debate on Poland’s accession to the euro zone and discuss the benefits, challenges, necessary reforms and possible threats associated with it. This is an extremely important topic, especially in the face of rising inflation, the war in Ukraine, problems with the rule of law and Poland’s loss of credibility in the EU area.

Events01.05.2022

The event was opened by Arkadiusz Muś, entrepreneur, founder and president of EFF, and Magdalena Jakubowska, vice-president of RPF. The first panel, “The future of Poland in Europe. Scenarios depending on the adoption of the euro”, included Julia Patorska (Association of Polish Economists and Deloitte), professor Andrzej Rzońca (SGH Warsaw School of Economics) and Wojciech Przybylski (RPF) and was moderated by Jakub Karnowski (member of the EFF Board). All interlocutors agreed that Poland’s entry into the euro zone could be beneficial. However, prof. Rzońca pointed out that after joining the euro zone interest rates in Poland may drop too low – which would be also the greatest threat associated with the accession. Nevertheless, he emphasized that there are economic policy tools that can reduce this problem – and by adopting the euro we would strengthen the community of interests and community of values with the euro zone countries.

– Since we currently do not meet the conditions for joining the monetary union, further European integration would require the recovery of finances. The latter may be even more important than the adoption of the euro itself – noted Julia Patorska.
“Entering the euro zone should not be an end in itself, but the culmination of efforts to bring the Polish economy to a state where adopting the euro is possible,” she added.

A healed economy could deteriorate again, which is why “we need the euro to protect ourselves against irresponsible politicians”, commented Jakub Karnowski. However, it will not be possible to introduce the European currency in Poland if Poles are still insufficiently informed. According to Wojciech Przybylski, the lack of information is the reason why people are afraid of changing the currency. At the same time, the other EU member states that have joined the community since 2004 are adopting euro.

Another panel “Why ‘yes’ to the Euro?” featured professor Małgorzata Starczewska-Krzysztoszek (University of Warsaw) and professor Witold Orlowski (PWC). The conversation was chaired by Konrad Piasecki (TVN24). The interlocutors noted that joining the euro zone poses various risks, but we can prepare for them in advance – and the benefits from eliminating transaction costs and the costs of insuring against exchange rate fluctuations are something worth striving for.

During the conference, Krzysztof Kowalczyk (Rzeczpospolita) conducted a conversation with the special guest – former Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrzej Olechowski. According to Olechowski, there was already an opportunity to join the euro zone, but it was missed by Leszek Miller, who should have announced further dates for deepening integration immediately after Poland joined the EU. Currently, adopting the euro will not be possible without a large-scale information campaign. “People will always be unconvinced and we need a broad information campaign, but it must be done,” concluded the minister.

The second part of the panel “Why ‘yes’ to the Euro?” with professor Joanna Tyrowicz (University of Warsaw) and professor Robert Gwiazdowski (University of Lodz), was led by Agata Stremecka (FOR). Prof. Gwiazdowski stated that he changed his perspective on Poland’s accession to the euro zone to a more favorable one, regarding the Russia’s attack on Ukraine. According to Gwiazdowski, in situations of security threat, it is better to have savings in euros rather than zlotys or hryvnias. Tyrowicz pointed out that the euro zone is becoming an increasingly optimal currency area. Moreover, there are already people on the labor market who were born in the euro zone and do not know a world without this currency. In the light of the condition of the euro zone, considering whether to join it seems incomprehensible. “Especially that when Poland joined the European Union, it declared that it would adopt the common currency”, said Joanna Tyrowicz.

The conference was summarized by Marek Tatała (CEO of EFF) and Wojciech Przybylski (president of RPF). Marek Tatała declared that the Economic Freedom Foundation would carry out activities to ensure that the discussion on entering the euro zone continues and support for this matter increases. The “Euro: Security Zone” conference is just the beginning of EFF’s activities to achieve the ultimate goal of adopting the euro in Poland. We encourage everyone interested in cooperation in this area to contact the foundation.

Artykuł Should Poland join the euro zone? Conference: ”Euro: Security Zone” pochodzi z serwisu Fundacja Wolności Gospodarczej.

EFF at the Freedom Games

FWG — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 06:54:58 +0000

EFF at the Freedom Games

Autor: FWG

The Economic Freedom Foundation’s representatives could not miss this year’s Freedom Games in Łódź, Poland. Members of the foundation’s executive board Arkadiusz Muś and Marek Tatała spoke on a panel organized by the Civil Development Forum.

Agnieszka Cytacka

Events17.09.2021

The subject of the panel entitled “Poland: Stagnation or Growth? Employment, rule of law, investment, innovation” concerned the development of the Polish economy. The panel also featured an economist from the University of Warsaw, Malgorzata Starczewska-Krzysztoszek, and FOR Chief Economist Slawomir Dudek. The conversation was chaired by Agata Stremecka, President of FOR.

During the Freedom Games participants could listen to many interesting and inspiring speeches and discussions. Speakers included Yuval Noah Harari, Adam Bodnar, Igor Tuleya, Leszek Balcerowicz, Rafał Trzaskowski, Szymon Hołownia and many others.

The Economic Freedom Foundation was a content partner of the Freedom Games, and PRESS GLASS was one of the supporting partners for the Games.

Photo by Agnieszka Cytacka for the Freedom Games 2021

Artykuł EFF at the Freedom Games pochodzi z serwisu Fundacja Wolności Gospodarczej.

EFF at Campus Poland of the Future

FWG — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 06:47:31 +0000

EFF at Campus Poland of the Future

Autor: FWG

The representatives of the Economic Freedom Foundation appeared in Olsztyn at the Campus Poland of the Future (Campus Polska Przyszłosci) event. The panel organized by the Civil Development Forum featured members of the executive board of the foundation Arkadiusz Muś and Marek Tatała.

Events05.09.2021

The subject of the panel concerned the development of the Polish economy and referred to the FOR Foundation’s report “Poland: Stagnation or Growth? Employment, rule of law, investment, innovation.” Arkadiusz Muś drew attention to the deteriorating image of Poland in the world and emphasized how important the stability of the law is for the climate for investing and developing companies. When asked to consider sponsoring one of the sports initiatives, he stated that he prefers to support classical liberal projects. The panel was also attended by FOR lawyer Eliza Rutynowska and FOR Chief Economist, Slawomir Dudek. The discussion was moderated by FOR President Agata Stremecka.

The Campus Poland of the Future was initiative of the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski. Among many speakers it was possible to listen to Donald Tusk, Gergely Karácsony (Mayor of Budapest), Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (Head of the Coordination Council of Belarus), Adam Bodnar (former Ombudsman) and Leszek Balcerowicz (former Minister of Finance). The event was attended by a thousand young participants from various parts of Poland.

Artykuł EFF at Campus Poland of the Future pochodzi z serwisu Fundacja Wolności Gospodarczej.

Freedom Games in Poland

FWG — Sun, 15 Aug 2021 08:28:06 +0000

Freedom Games in Poland

Autor: FWG

The next edition of the Freedom Games will take place on 10th-12th September in Łódź, Poland, and in virtual space. It is an annual conference organized by the Liberté Foundation.

Events15.08.2021

The organizers create a space for dialogue about the most important challenges facing Western societies in the 21st century. The discussions will be attended by representatives of many professions including politics, culture, business, media, non-governmental organizations and others. The Freedom Games are a grass-roots forum that brings together people who share such values as: liberal democracy, open society and the rule of law. Representatives of the Economic Freedom Foundation will take part in several panels during this year’s Games.

The Economic Freedom Foundation is the content partner of the Freedom Games.

Artykuł Freedom Games in Poland pochodzi z serwisu Fundacja Wolności Gospodarczej.