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> But, as an Eastern European I'm of course biased. I grew up in the economy-controlled '80s when we were experiencing toilet paper shortages, among other things (question for the anti-free market people: how do you centralize the production of things like toilet paper? How do you decide how much toilet paper to make, in the absence of a free market?)

As Eastern Germany (where I grew up) was not experiencing toilet paper shortages in the '80s, I'd say the main source of the problem wasn't the planned economy per se, but other contributing factors.

Amartya Sen makes a strong case for authoritarianism being the culprit, as there are numerous examples of famines and shortages in market-regulated, but authoritarian economies (like the 1943 Bengal famine, where millions of people died).

[alienjr]

Nonsense, the entire era of Industrial Revolution happened during authoritarian governments. Not to mention the economic success of Hong Kong or Chile.

PS. Yes, there was huge shortage of toilet paper in Poland during 80's. Huge! My family was standing in the queues for 2-3h to get it.

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> Nonsense, the entire era of Industrial Revolution happened during authoritarian governments.

And whole generations lived in misery during that period. I thought that's exactly what we were talking about?

> Not to mention the economic success of Hong Kong or Chile.

I don't know about Hong Kong, but in Chile the Chicago school free market era under Pinochet ended in the collapse of the economy in 1982.