06 maio 2019

Liberalism in Portugal

Portugal is not known for its liberalism. Having spent most of its History under absolutist monarchy, and most of the past two centuries between a rock and a hard place, socialism has governed the country since 1974’s democratic coup.

The socialists and the social democrats, two sides of the same coin, have monopolised government for 45 years.

The alternative is citizen-centered liberalism, one which is not about the old divide of left vs. right, but about empowering the people over the state.

Rather, the most contentious debate is increasingly about government failure, about its inability to deliver proper public services and infrastructure.

Anecdotal evidence in the public sector includes waiting lists for cardiology appointments up to 3 years long, year-long waiting for retirement pension approvals, roads that cave in, and falling train engines.

By contracting-out public services and establishing competition between for-profit, not-for-profit, and even public providers, the state should relegate itself to a role of refereeing, delegating the role of provisioning to other players.

Player-referees tend to be devious players and even worse referees.

My political platform is one of competition, decentralisation and freedom of choice – or devolution of choice to citizens – both in Portugal and in the European Union.

Fonte: aqui.

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