[learc83]

>Universal rules definitely exist in the form of things like supply/demand curves.

There are no universal rules for economics in reality. There are generally useful models, that often fail spectacularly. All the universal rules you can think of depend on simplifications that never actually hold--rational actors, perfect information, perfect competition etc...

>I would rather live in a hardcore capitalist hellhole than in the shambles of a failed society that would result from the alternative.

That really depends on the alternative. USSR?, North Korea?, Cuba?, Feudalism? I can think of some pretty bad failure states for capitalist hellholes.

> We should be wary of assuming that non-market intervention is necessary, but we shouldn't shy away from acting when that intervention is necessary.

Sounds rational to me.