Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site denelcor.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!hao!denelcor!neal From: neal@denelcor.UUCP (Neal Weidenhofer) Newsgroups: net.politics.theory Subject: Re: Overlooked contributions of the rich Message-ID: <687@denelcor.UUCP> Date: Mon, 11-Mar-85 19:43:32 EST Article-I.D.: denelcor.687 Posted: Mon Mar 11 19:43:32 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 16-Mar-85 03:56:30 EST References: <356@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP> Organization: Denelcor, Aurora, Colorado Lines: 25 ************************************************************************** > If I'm not mistaken, libertarians on the net have stated that wealth > is created by the labor of men and women. Correct, and since only > people produce wealth, not capital or money, what gives the > capitalist the right, merely by virtue of ownership, to appropriate > any of this wealth created by other people? The fact that they couldn't have done it without his capital. > In their efforts to > justify an exploitative system, apologists for capitalism have come > up with this answer: The capitalist is risking his wealth when he > invests it in production or some other instrument. But no one has > ever explained why anyone deserves or "earns" a return merely by > having taken a risk. Otherwise, why should he take the risk? (If your answer is some explicit or implicit use of force, don't bother.) > Richard Carnes, ihnp4!gargoyle!carnes Regards, Neal Weidenhofer "The law is for protection Denelcor, Inc. of the people" !denelcor!neal