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anarcho capitalism debunked
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Boner Oiler wrote
at 12:25 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT
The more conservative the right wing gets, the more liberal the left. Libertarianism is becoming increasingly popular, especially on the Internet. In my opinion, libertarianism takes both liberal and conservative too far.
Under many forms of the idea, libertarianism is just another word for liberal. A moderate libertarian might argue that people should be left to themselves when their actions do not harm others, and the free market should be maintained. This is generally a good idea. Unfortunately, some go too far. “Extremist” libertarians, or – anarcho – capitalists as some have taken to calling themselves – claim that government in any form is “evil” or “immoral”. Here, I present a response to one of their most common arguments for this surprisingly popular viewpoint. 1. The utilitarian argument, the suggestion that a free market and free society best fulfil the goals – prosperity, alleviation of poverty, technological innovation, and so forth. Superficially, this looks like a good idea, and I partly agree with it. “Free society”, taken to mean free speech and other similar liberties, is a very good idea. What isn’t a good idea is an unregulated free market. Don’t get me wrong – I like capitalism. I like to own stuff. With any absolute economic doctrine (absolute socialism or absolute capitalism), there are inherent flaws. With capitalism, people best able to exploit others succeed the most. Needless to say, exploitation is a bad thing. With socialism, motivation is lacking. There are also issues with resources, but we’ll pretend we actually have enough for now. Soviet Russia, notably, overcame this lack of inherent motivation through widespread use of the AK 47. Ideal economies aside, absolute capitalism (a fundamental tenet of libertarian thought) tends to lead to heavily unbalanced distributions of wealth. It’s common for libertarians to argue that the “free market will stabilize the economy”. This is a blatant falsehood. There is no magical free market fairy to swish her wand and take back all the money from the naughty corporations, and tiny imbalances in the economy would refill their pockets in short order. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever find a perfect economic system, but we can certainly come close. Libertarianism seems to be shooting for the moon, because it’s way out there. http://rdthrawn.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/5-common-libertarian-arguments-debunked/ |
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TheBetterYodel wrote
at 12:58 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT I didn't realize insanity was on the menu for breakfast.
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Tourney Champ wrote
at 1:54 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT BO it would be up to a free people to regulate their own laws and creations, i.e corporations.
however with the global economic age taking off, it is increasingly hard for any single govt to regulate corporate greed. see - http://www.nowpublic.com/world/venezuela-vs-exxon-mobil-pdvsa-wins-unfreezing-oil-assets-london-court-updated-ii im not sure what the answer is, but i know 2 things http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_peace_theory & http://www.economist.com/node/13063298 (middle class in emerging economies) here is a quote from the economist article; "Marx, who admired Malthus, was equally astonished by the emergence of the middle class. As he wrote in the “Communist Manifesto”: Historically it has played a most revolutionary part. The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations…It has accomplished wonders far surpassing Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts and Gothic cathedrals…The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country…All old-established national industries have been destroyed or are daily being destroyed. They are dislodged by new industries, whose introduction becomes a life-and-death question for all civilised nations…In place of the old wants, satisfied by the production of the country, we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes…National one-sidedness and narrow-mindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures there arises a world literature. The bourgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all, even the most barbarian, nations into civilisation." |
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Boner Oiler wrote
at 2:00 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT That all well and fine TC but do you really think anarcho capitalism (absolute libertarianism) could work?
I think it's a bit naive to suggest the free market is applicable in all scenarios (sometimes you're not free). This comes up a lot in cartels, monopolies and generally any exploitation of the economy by industry. Am I to hear you correctly, you would sanction and even advocate such economic exploitation? |
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deadcode wrote
at 4:04 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT Here is the bio of the person who wrote that blog post. (which btw; is a bunch of crap; as yodel already stated)
"Thrawn Most of you probably have no idea who I am, which make sense since you’ve never seen me before. In a brilliant and unexpected move, the fiendish droid leader, General Greivous Elles has added me as a co-author of this blog. A bit about me: I am a 15 year old socialist leaning liberal bisexual atheist with delusions of grandeur (and perhaps a touch of insanity). I live in Ontario, Canadia (We’re Canadians, that means we live in Canadia). I tend to make strange sounds for no particular reason, and consider ice cubes to be a delectable treat. I’m here to pass some of this strangeness on to you." He is a 15 year old socialist from Canada. Congrats; BO; you have the mentality of a 15 year old socialist. Kinda like what most of the people on this forum have been saying for years. GG |
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Boner Oiler wrote
at 4:07 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT dead would you rather be a guy or a girl
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deadcode wrote
at 4:08 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT He is also a proud member of the "High School Freethinkers, Come Out!"
Maybe you should join BO. Here is the link: http://splendidelles.wordpress.com/high-school-freethinkers-come-out/ |
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Tourney Champ wrote
at 5:23 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT BO
of course i dont think absolute libertarianism would work, its an idealistic theory. |
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deadcode wrote
at 10:22 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT Boner stop dodging the topic at hand. Why are you reading 15 year olds online rants and posting them on this forum as if they are actually credible defenses of your belief system.
Who is dodging now? |
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deadcode wrote
at 10:29 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT You always talk about how you are such a great researcher and you always source your work.
So far I have source articles defending my positions from a wide range of sources; including: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Washington Times, Washington Post, Government Studies, Drudge, Wikipedia, etc. So far your sources are Wikipedia, a liberal think tank, a reality tv star, and a 15 year old boy living in canada who goes by the nom de guerre, "Thrawn". |
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Boner Oiler wrote
at 10:34 PM, Wednesday May 25, 2011 EDT lol I've never seen you link to any of those websites. did you imagine that with your other delusions -- like absolute libertarianism? you're as bad as the marxists in your extremist. When I imagine you you're wear a colonial triangle hat with bells dead.
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