From: Patrick Wilken (patrickw@cs.monash.edu.au)
Date: Fri Apr 25 1997 - 22:51:57 MDT
>The Libertarian and Green and movements are beginning to coalesce
>(thanks to an old economic philosophy that seems new bringing the two
>into greater discussion
I think there is a lot of room for greater use of libertarian thought in
Green philosophy. Simple economic arguments are uncomfortable to many
Greens. It clear that here in Australia there is a massive subsidy to the
forest industry by the government. The government not only builds roads in
the forest for the logging industry, but does all the clean up and planting
of new trees after logging has finished. This tax subsidy allows woodchips
very cheaply at $70 a tonne which is particular ironic as surveys
repeatedly show that around 80% of Australians don't want forests logged in
the first place. However trying to get Green groups to push a rational
economic line is particularly difficult. There is a strong almost religious
fervor against all economic arguments. Money to many in the movement is
seen as a tool of the devil.
I would very much appreciate getting a better understanding of how
libertarian thought can be meshed with the idea of public property.
Wilderness areas to the Greens are common property to all and must be
managed as such by a government body and this I think (from my shallow
reading of libertarian philosophy) would be a major sticking point between
better integration of the two groups.
best, patrick
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Patrick Wilken http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~patrickw/
Editor: PSYCHE: An International Journal of Research on Consciousness
Secretary: The Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness
http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/ http://www.phil.vt.edu/ASSC/
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