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From: mrh@cybvax0.UUCP (Mike Huybensz)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Politics and Ethics--Socialism,
Message-ID: <902@cybvax0.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-Jan-86 16:23:06 EST
Article-I.D.: cybvax0.902
Posted: Thu Jan 23 16:23:06 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 25-Jan-86 09:45:37 EST
References: <486@whuts.UUCP> <101500008@uiucdcs>
Reply-To: mrh@cybvax0.UUCP (Mike Huybensz)
Organization: Cybermation, Inc., Cambridge, MA
Lines: 22
Summary: 

In article <101500008@uiucdcs> renner@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU writes:
> >  If a few people control most of the income and the wealth and most
> >  people control nothing then only the wants of the wealthy will be
> >  measured by the market.  This is one of the worst flaws of laissez 
> >  faire economics.
> >                      -- tim sevener (orb@whuts)
> 
> If a few people control most of the income and wealth, then in practice
> *any* political system will cater to the wants of these people.  This
> is unavoidable.  A "free market" is no better and no worse than anything
> else in this situation.

The market is not a political system, because income and wealth are only
components of power.  Political systems need not cater to the wealthy: they
need to cater to the sources of their power.  That's the whole idea behind
democracies (or democratic republics): the recognition that there is
real power in mere numbers.  Because poor men can kill rich men: it
may not be an even ratio, but the worse it gets, the better the chances
of the poor.
-- 

Mike Huybensz		...decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!cybvax0!mrh