Bruce,
You sound like Candide, saying that if we live in a free market, then
by definition we live in the best of all possible worlds, no matter the
actual results of that freedom! Wouldn't you agree that all else being
equal, a market with lots of choices for consumers, low barriers to
entry, and many companies competing is preferable to a market that
lacks these characteristics?
Remember, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely! Or
do you believe the corrupting effect of power only applies to the
public sector?
I do agree with your first qualification — when I said "no government
interference" I was referring to interference above and beyond
providing protection against force or fraud.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
From: "Starchild" <sfdreamer@earthlink.net>
To: <lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2003 12:23 AM
Subject: [lpsf-discuss] Creating ideal market conditions (was "Raging
Libertarian")It seems to me that an ideal market would be one with the following
characteristics:• No government interference
Unless force or fraud is involved?
• Wide variety of consumer choice
Why? Let the market choose the number of choices.
• Low barriers to entry
Why? Let the market choose the barriers to entry.
• Highly competitive (not dominated by any single company or small
group of companies)
Why? So what if one or only a few companies have earned
market dominance?
• Favorable conditions for innovation, creativity, and technological
progress
Why? Who decides when these conditions are not
favorable and what are the remedies?In the computer industry, a lot of the issues that come up, and that
determine which companies prosper and how, are going to be issues of
intellectual property. Now given that intellectual property is such a
grey area of libertarian philosophy to begin with (should government
enforce patents? should they eventually expire? etc.), might it be
worth tolerating a little government interference if that interference
was designed to enhance the other four characteristics noted above?Your devil's advocate,
<<< Starchild >>>>
>> Don't get me wrong. I support the free market. All
>> I was saying
>> is that I blacklist that company in my book, and I
>> have every right
>> to do so.... unless someone feels this is an
>> inappropriate topic
>> for this list. I suppose it is. Sorry.
>>
> I did not mean to imply that it was wrong to
> personally not choose MS or Linux or that your
> comments here were inappropriate.
>
> My commentary was meant to address the fact that
> Microsoft's aggressive business tactics should not be
> compared on the same level as those that McNealy has
> sunken to in wrongly leveraging government. That is
> much, much worse in my opinion. And it's not like Sun
> is lily white on the business tactics either. They
> have been sued for patent/tm violations, etc. as well.
>
>
> BTW - I'm looking for any supporting material on a
> comparison between competitive markets vs. free
> markets, if you know of any. Very subtle difference
> between the two...I've found many neo-libs to say they
> support the free-market(like McNealy) but what they
> really want is 'a level playing field' on their own
> terms - i.e. no domination. Doesn't sound free to me.
> ideas on this?
>
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