Video response - Assignment Example

Commanding Heights The video highlights the major effects of a government controlled economy, and how this affects the country as a whole. The video mainly contrasts the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, who favored a government controlled economy and Freidrich Von Hayek, who supported the idea of a free market. The video brings into light one of the major limitations of a state controlled economy. The supporters of state controlled economies argued that it helps promote equitable development throughout the country.

Initially, this approach worked for many countries. However, as the video shows, when an economy is controlled by the state, it is likely that the country suffers from high rates of inflation. For example, the video shows that before the Second World War, major economies such as America and Great Britain favored the Keynesian macroeconomic thought. However, immediately after the war, the effects of this approach were felt, and these were manifested through high levels of inflation. The counterapproach to the Keynesian macroeconomic principles is the idea of a free market as promoted by Hayek.

As the video shows, one of the champions of a free market was Margret Thatcher who called for the liberalization of the British economy. Indeed, most countries, including the United States and Germany, adopted this approach and their economies were transformed. The documentary thus promotes the idea that market power and government control clash, making it difficult to successfully run a government controlled economy. However, whereas it might appear that a free market economy is the best option, the real issue lies in the balance of state power and freedom of the market.

This will perhaps explain why socialist states such as china and Russia have remained successful to date. It can thus be argued that there is no single way of handling the economy of a nation, but instead it’s a careful balance of these two powers. Works CitedCommanding Heights. Prod. WGBH Boston Video. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 2002. DVD.