I don't know when this debate began but there's more than one layer of paper posted here. I remember seeing it at an earlier stage where the disputants were trading quotes from Voltaire. Whatever its beginnings we have a libertarian of some sort (one who distinguishes between "croney capitalism" and a "truly free market") and some sort of leftist or, as the libertarian sees him, an incipient "facist." We've all heard that a healthy public sphere is essential to liberal democracy, but I'm not sure this is the sort of public discussion the idealists have in mind.
4 comments:
There is no such thing as a 'free market'. There never has been and never will be. There will always be those who attempt to manipulate such market for their own benefit. The best you can hope for is a government that only 'levels the playing field'. Another nutcase with a wrong world view.
For all we know, the market's susceptibility to manipulation for personal benefit is exactly what defines it as "free" for some people.
In which case, what is the selling point to the rest of us? Intelligent, educated people wouldn't fall for such nonsense. To paraphrase Jack Nicholson's Joker, "This country needs an enema."
The sad fact is, the only 'free market' is the black market. And it isn't free. Sans government oversight/regulation, that is what all markets would become.
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