From: "Mike Lorrey" <mlorrey@datamann.com>
> Miriam English wrote:
> > The thing that worries me is that if government is reduced to the point
> > that many libertarians want, then they risk simply becoming lackeys of
> > powerful business interests. This would simply result in the situation
you
> > describe above.
>
> Who is 'they'? If you mean the government, powerful business interests
> are not able to use the government to any extent because that government
> is limited in what it can do. In such a situation, a union, for example,
> would always overpower a corporation because the union membership will
> always outnumber the corporation's lackeys, where both sides can arm or
> disarm as much as they wish. The government would not be empowered to
> step in on the corporations side to force the union to settle, or impede
> the union membership from arming as they see fit.
>
> Liberals always see themselves, as individuals, as being entirely
> powerless in all possible situations, reliant on the government patron
> to protect them.
Regarding liberals seeing themselves as "powerless" in all possible
situations: Do you mean some liberals? All liberals? 12.895% of liberals?
This is part of the liberal victimological myth that
> has evolved from common serf attitudes held by immigrants coming from
> feudal and tyrannical systems. They don't see that if the power of the
> government is reduced, not only is the ability of the corporations
> reduced (since their power is given to them by government protections),
> but the individuals regain great power as individuals, because that is
> where the government got its power in the first place.
Yeah, but ... leaving things just to "individuals" didn't work out too well
in the past, did it? What's wrong with a checks-and-balances system?
Accountability ... coalitions ... these are not irresponsible ideas, and
they can certainly be part of a governing system. People (individuals,
after all) make up government - it's not like it's some kind of amorphous
entity of The Bad Crimson Guy with Horns.
> Under libertarianism, laborers will gain far greater power than they
> realize, and corporations will finally be fully exposed to the
> retribution they earn by unjust actions.
Sigh. Got any historical precedents? (when laborers had the "power," and
corporations were very, very goooooooooood boys).
Olga
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:22 MDT