From: Charlie Stross (charlie@antipope.org)
Date: Wed Aug 07 2002 - 09:48:48 MDT
On Tue, Aug 06, 2002 at 07:02:08AM -0400, Technotranscendence wrote:
>
> First, that could have been done without an EU or an EP. In fact, for
> much of the 19th century that was just what happened without them.
> Second, it also imposes regulations on economic activity, so the EU is
> not totally benign in this sphere. It's kind of like a big mob boss
> taking over a large area and stanardizing some of his business practices
> across his turf.
I have difficulty believing that this one is still coming up again!
Seriously. Go have a look at the nature of the regimes that were
participating in the customs union back in the 19th century and I think
you'll find that the EU -- which has both directly elected and delegated
components, and works by consensus -- is a little bit better than an
arrangement of convenience between a bunch of mostly-absolute monarchies.
(And better at governance, as well as harmonizing free trade.)
> It's not "reducing democracy" per se, but reducing all government.
> After all, forms of nondemocratic states have come and gone as well as
> much more limited democratic states than the ones we see all over the
> globe today. The common bad thread running through all of them is
> government.
What is government for?
That's the rub.
(I hate to say it here because it's bound to generate a knee-jerk response
from the minarchist contingent hereabouts, but I am in favour of big
government for certain purposes. *Not* for letting some inbred loon in
a crown indulge their droit de seigneur, or for allowing a posturing
idiot in a suit to declare war on people who didn't vote for him, but
for organising those common functions that don't self-organise and don't
work well in the market but that we the people can benefit from. We live
in a complex, and ever more complex world, and it increasingly requires
regulatory mechanisms. This is axiomatic -- to me, if not to you -- and
if you don't agree, then we'll just have to agree to differ.)
-- Charlie
Out now: "Toast, and other rusted futures" -- available via my blog
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blosxom.cgi
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