Positive non-interventionism (Chinese:積極不干預) was theeconomic policy ofHong Kong; this policy can be traced back to the time when Hong Kong was underBritish rule. It was first officially implemented in 1971[citation needed] byFinancial Secretary of Hong KongJohn Cowperthwaite,[1] influenced byArthur Grenfell Clarke andGeoffrey Follows which believed that the economy was doing well in the absence ofgovernment intervention but that it was important to create the regulatory and physical infrastructure to facilitatemarket-based decision making.[2] The policy was continued by subsequent Financial Secretaries, including SirPhilip Haddon-Cave. EconomistMilton Friedman has cited it as a fairly comprehensive implementation oflaissez-faire policy.[3][4] While other describe it as an variant ofcorporatism[5] or even as amixed economic system.[6]
Financial SecretariesDonald Tsang,Antony Leung,Henry Tang andJohn Tsang all defended the minimal intervention approach, however didn't called it Positive non-interventionism and didn't really advocated for it.[7]Donald Tsang called his economic policy "Big Market, Small Government".[8] During Tsang term asFinancial Secretary of Hong Kong, Tsang coined the term "caring capitalism" in 1996, which describe the governments's approach of giving priority to economic growth and then using the new-found wealth to develop social infrastructure and welfare services.[9] William W. L. Wong argues thatHong Kong had underDonald Tsang awelfare capitalist system,[10] also Christian Aspalter has the view,[11] butDonald Tsang still used positive non-interventionist elements.[12] AfterHong Kong became part of thePeople's Republic of China but beforeDonald Tsang,Hong Kong embraced a mix of a liberal economy and a welfare state.[13][14] While Peter Guy argues thatHong Kong embraces apredatory form ofcapitalism.[15] Welfare[vague] measures rose in 2012.[16]Leung Chun-ying also embraced like Tsang some positive non-interventionist elements[17][18] and also used it as an governance strategy.[19][20]Carrie Lam used like her predecessor positive non-inteeventionist elements[21] even after her pledging of a “new fiscal philosophy”.[7] However underJohn Lee Ka-chiu since 2024 the government tries to navigate betweencapitalism andsocialism, if it want to findthird way between them is not known though.[22]
According to Cowperthwaite:
In the long run, the aggregate of decisions of individual businessmen, exercising individual judgment in a free economy, even if often mistaken, is less likely to do harm than the centralised decisions of a government; and certainly the harm is likely to be counteracted faster.[23]
According to Haddon-Cave:
positive non-interventionism involves taking the view that it is normally futile and damaging to thegrowth rate of an economy, particularly anopen economy, for the Government to attempt to plan the allocation of resources available to theprivate sector and to frustrate the operation of market forces.
Haddon-Cave goes on to say that the "positive" part means the government carefully considers each possible intervention to determine "where the advantage" lies, and, although usually it will come to the conclusion that the intervention is harmful, sometimes it will decide to intervene.
WhileJohn Tsang Chun-wah wasn't a positive non-interventionist, he followed afiscal conservative philosophy.[24] However he also embraced somesocial welfare programs.[25][26][27]Henry Tang supportsfree markets and a small government similar to Tsang's "Big Market, Small Government", however Tang's practice welfare maeasures aren't really known. It should be noted though that dozens of people aired their grievances to Henry Tang Ying-yen over the funding cuts to welfare services made over the past couple of years.[28] However, later he claimed that some policies aimed forwelfare, even when lawmakers were critical of this, after year's Tang promised higher rent for elders.[29][30] Times before he praised after all social enterprises.[31] also he promised more family-related reforms.[32] and romised more social welfare for social workers.[33] The practice things Tang did make Tang's philosophy closer to positive non-interventionism.[34] Tang openly embracescapitalism[35] and also admires theUS PresidentCalvin Coolidge.[36]
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