Re: The meta-invisible hand

Lee Daniel Crocker (lcrocker@jupiter.colossus.net)
Tue, 23 Sep 1997 12:27:59 -0700 (PDT)


>> Is free market evolution selecting for what we want? I want knowledge
>> and art to be produced and gathered. I don't think I'm alone in this.
>> I want to gather knowledge myself, and hopefully produce some. What I
>> see is Microsoft with billions of dollars, and GNU slipping by on
>> contributors' spare time.

First of all, neither Microsoft nor GNU operate within anything
resembling a free market. Both go out of their way to use the
force of law to mandate their choice of information exchange, not
free choice.

Secondly, if the free market isn't evolving into what /you/ want,
who cares? It is, by definition, evolving into what each individual
freely chooses to make it. Any other system /would/ likely evolve
the whole system into what only a few wanted, to the detriment of
everyone else. I have no claim to know what's best for anyone but
me, and free market allows me to control what's mine and nothing
and no one else.

--
Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html>
"All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past,
are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified
for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC