From: Paul Hughes (paul@planetp.cc)
Date: Tue Sep 05 2000 - 01:29:42 MDT
John Clark wrote:
> Paul Hughes <paul@planetp.cc> Wrote:
>
> >the biggest bug in our so-called free-market is that everything is up for
> > grabs (freedom, justice)
>
> Well yes, but that's a feature not a bug. The best way to maximize anything
> is to make it a commodity, the market does exactly that with freedom and
> justice.
Ah, so you're saying it is a commodity!? At least your honest about it. Keep in
mind that most people aren't going to sit well with the idea that everything
including their freedom is open to the highest bidder. Fundamentally you're
talking about a system where those with the knack to make the most money rule those
who don't. It should be obvious then why free-marketeers are often compared to
fascists. Until you can explain how those lacking key economic success tools can
also thrive in such a system, you're going to have a lot of resistance on your
hands, and the meme of socialism will continue to thrive. My challenge to people
on this list is for them to convince the rest how such a system will benefit them
more than the one we have now. Until then, these idea will remain just that -
ideas, and ill received ones at that.
> >where he with the most money wins.
>
> Somebody is going to win it's just a question of who.
And why is that? Why not a win-win for everyone? Unlike many here, I won't stop
questioning and thinking about these ideas until I can devise a system that
maximizes individual liberty and prosperity. The point of this thread was to seek
out 'bugs' in free-markets. Are you unwilling to admit that there is always a
better way, a better idea than the one you currently possess? Sure, free-markets
and more importantly competitive free-markets are better than monopolized state
control. But why stop there? That's a pretty vague place to rest, isn't it? The
day we stop question our ideas, is the day we stop thinking all together. If these
ideas are so mature, then why haven't they taken off in the general public more?
> Would you would prefer
> dictatorship where he who has the biggest gun wins, or democracy where he
> who has the best haircut wins?
I'd prefer that everyone wins.
Paul Hughes
http://planetp.cc/
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