RE: Food labels and consumer information (was Re: Protesters swarm Calif. biotech meeting)

From: Rafal Smigrodzki (rafal@smigrodzki.org)
Date: Wed Jul 02 2003 - 23:45:37 MDT

  • Next message: Rafal Smigrodzki: "RE: Food labels and consumer information (was Re: Protesters swarm Calif. biotech meeting)"

    Brett wrote:

    >
    > I don't see how the free market can be given unfettered free
    > range without destroying itself. Like a fire that doesn't stay
    > in the fireplace, but burns the house down.

    ### The free market has a tendency to mutate into a state, as soon as
    monopolies of land ownership and power emerge, this is correct. But I
    wouldn't say that it destroys itself - it is poorly capable of defending
    itself against the greed, hatred, and short-sightedness of humans who
    initially make it work. Also, there is the difficulty with the provision of
    certain goods, such as information.

    Long-range planning, the very long range enlightened self-interest, could
    perhaps allow the formation of a stable free market with minimal or none of
    the brutal monopolist practices typical of the state, with polycentric law,
    and yet providing the average humans with much more services than any other
    system. Presently most humans (including a fair number of capitalists) are
    incapable of such long-range planning, but this could happen yet, as
    life-spans lengthen and intelligence grows.

    Rafal



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