ABSTRACT
North American liberalism in general and market-centred economic ideas in particular have come to dominate debates about economic liberalization. The assumption is that state intervention has to be minimized if the market is to be liberalized; that is to say, the state’s non-economic intervention in the market is not justified. But its application to East Asian economies is highly problematic and even dangerous, where the state has played the role of ‘market planner or governor’ for compressed economic growth. The economic logic, of course, addresses a crucial point of liberalization; that is, excessive and unnecessary regulations must be minimized.
