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From: mms1646@acf4.UUCP (Michael M. Sykora)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: What is "capitalism"?
Message-ID: <2380024@acf4.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 1-Jun-85 13:51:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: acf4.2380024
Posted: Sat Jun  1 13:51:00 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 2-Jun-85 07:49:07 EDT
References: <2876@sdcc3.UUCP>
Organization: New York University
Lines: 61

>/* tonyw@ubvax.UUCP (Tony Wuersch) / 11:32 pm  May 29, 1985 */

>"Does the government know best ..."  Answer no?  I'd say it DEPENDS both
>on the government AND the (survey, feedback, etc.) information it's getting
>or collecting.  And if you think all governments are bad, then I sure don't
>want you in my government.

How can a relatively small number of people (i.e., the gov't.) know
what's best for millions?  Moreover, how can anyone know what's best
for anyone else?  The notion that the gov't. can know is absurd.

Government seems to attract people with two basic attitudes towards it.
One group of people wants to use gov't. to help others, and the other
group wants to exercise power over people.  It seems that the nature
of democracy is such that the latter group typically ends up in control.

>You'll be the first to go corrupt, according
>to the social scientists (a lesson for the Reaganauts).

On what evidence is this conclusion based?

>Let's have some
>realistic optimism here, eh?  Good government exists in MANY countries,
>East and West.

Good compared to what?  The majority of the earth's population is
oppressed by their governments.  Unfortunately, the bad gov'ts are the
rule, and the good the exception.

It's absurd to be optimistic in the face of the violence perpetrated
by gov'ts. within the past century.

>I don't WANT to make every decision and take every risk in my life.  A lot
>of these decisions are a BIG waste of my time when they could be made by
>others with more information, wisdom, and increasing returns to scale.
>That's a fully rational wish of MINE that this government won't let me
>make.  Where's the market in governments?

You could hire a private firm to make such decisions for you.
Unlike gov'ts, private firms are accountable to the market and
are not subject to political decision-making.

>The last of these "questions" begging for obvious answers is whether
>we want to sacrifice our freedoms to determine our technology and
>mode of production to some alien government authority.  There's that "we"
>again!  And an "our" too.  Here it's nationalism run amuck.  Lacking a
>big wad of bucks or demand credits in a bank, I'd have more "freedom" to
>determine our technology or our mode of production in (almost)ANY socialist
>economy than in this one.

Where?

>  I have NO freedom to determine or to meaningfully
>participate in these big kinds of decisions under US-style capitalism.

You certainly do.  Freedom doesn't guarantee you that you will participate,
only that no one can stop you if you wish to participate.

>Tony Wuersch

						Mike Sykora