During his State of the Union speech, President Obama expressed his desire for an “economy built to last,” an oxymoron emblematic of the President’s embrace of Keynesianism and other failed economic philosophies. Simply put, strong economies are not built; they emerge.

To be built implies that there be a builder. Naturally, Obama envisions himself in this role. But it doesn’t matter who the builder is, they will necessarily be incapable of processing all the information required for managing something so complex as a national economy. No individual or group of individuals can succeed in such a task.

Rather than being built, strong economies emerge through the aggregate actions of free individuals advancing their interests, and works best within a system of basic political and legal infrastructure designed to foster economic liberty. In contrast to Obama’s vision for an activist government picking and choosing industries to support, high tax rates and political motivated government spending, this infrastructure limits itself to neutral provision of legal services, property rights and free trade.

This is, in other words, the typical battle between freedom and collectivism. In his State of the Union Speech, President Obama reaffirmed his support for the side of collectivism, economic stagnation, and misery, rather than for freedom and prosperity.