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Originally Posted by CosmicTang
(Post 16958066)
Sure, but let's look at this recent debacle that was touched off by the subprime mortgage crisis. Would you say that by pursuing their own interests companies like Countrywide, BofA, Lehman Bros., Goldman Sachs, et al promoted the interests of society more effectually than what they intended? These men did not act in the public good and it's clear they DID no public good. Quite the contrary.
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That had nothing to do with the free market but with government interference.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmicTang
(Post 16958066)
With all due respect to Adam Smith the invisible hand needs a bit of regulation to keep it honest.
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The invisible hand doesn't need regulation (gov interference). A true free market regulates itself. And there's no such thing as "a bit of regulation". To put it in the words of Ludwig von Mises; "there is no third option". There's the market or government.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmicTang
(Post 16958066)
As long as free markets are run by mortal men there is going to have to be some sort of oversight.
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and where are you gonna find those angels to watch over us? Yes, mortal men do make mistakes, we all do... and some of us learn from them, some learn from them after a long time and some of us never learn...
Uncertainty and
entrepreneurial error are part of the economy and at times cause small recessions, but the (free) market always corrects itself. The real danger is caused by mortal men (who make mistakes) who think they can regulate a very complex system and by trying to do so cause more problems. Just compare the depression of 1920-21 to the depression of 1929-...
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmicTang
(Post 16958066)
I think this last rodeo with deregulation should be clear evidence to that.
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The US (or Western EU) has only seen increased regulation in the last 150 years. The repeal of the Glass?Steagall act for example wasn't a real form of deregulation because the banks were still 'protected' by the government. In a real free market companies/business have to act responsible or they go out of business.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmicTang
(Post 16958066)
But your post does not address what I was asking directly. It's not a matter of whether or not private industry can do better by commodifying certain goods/services, it's whether or not the commodification should be allowed in the first place.
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We are all human beings, we are all born, we are all masters/owners of our own body, we live in a world of scarcity (there's a limited supply of resources) and we all have different goals/wants. The only thing we get for free every day until we die, is time. In a free market world, people are free to use their body and their property (the fruits of their own labour) as they see fit. They are free to do what they deem necessary to accomplish their goals as long as they respect other people's right to do the same: So people can do whatever they want as long as they don't cause damage to other people's body or property. So people have the right to free speech (= the right to use their own ink and paper as they see fit = the right to use their own property). They have the right to sleep all day long they if the want, they have the right to work all day if they want. They have the right to start a bakery if the want and they have the right to sell their products (bread in the case of the baker), but they don't have the right to a guaranteed income. If your bread tastes like sh*t, nobody will buy it. If you don't change your recipe or increase the quality of your bread, you will go out of business even if "making a living as a baker" is what you really wanted to do in life. In a free market you have the right to try to accomplish your dreams, but you don't have a right to get whatever you want for free. You have the right to work hard and try to save a lot of money and buy an Aston Martin, but you don't have the right to wish for an Aston Martin and have it magically appear just because you wanted one. In a free market, the products people produce or services people offer will always benefit society, because if people produced products nobody wanted, nobody would buy them and there would be no reason to produce them in the first place. So just because you work hard doesn't mean you have to be rewarded. However you will be rewarded (paid) if you produce (and sell) something that benefits society (something other people need or want). (If you get up in the morning and start digging a hole in your backyard and at the end of the day you end up with a giant hole in the ground, that means you worked really hard that day. But should you get paid for that? Of course not. Now if you worked hard producing something people wanted to buy, then you'd get rewarded).
So if people have a right to their own body and a right to their own property, then there can't be a thing like "free health care" or "health care as a basic right" because pills and bandages and syringes and hospital beds etc don't magically appear when we wish for them. Some one has to make/build/produce those items and why would somebody do that for free, if he can use his time to do something else? How is the government supposed to pay for those items? The government doesn't have any money... unless they take it from people (and commit an act of aggression by doing so).
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmicTang
(Post 16958066)
That some companies are commodifying their own employees is repugnant and should be disallowed without debate.
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I think you are confusing 2 things here. Labour has always been considered a factor of production so the law of supply and demand applies here.
If you refer to the fact that a lot of companies treat their employees without respect, then yes, I agree, that's repugnant and in a free market system, you have the possibility to boycott those companies and you have the right to quit your job if boss treats you like sh*t. Those are you options, anything that goes beyond that would be unethical.