Dean Forster wrote:
>The free market(or whatever) doesn't have perfect
>knowledge nor self correction, but it's the best we
>have right now. The name of the game is efficiency,
>the allocation of resources where they'll do the most
>good. To be honest, I can't conceive of anything that
>could be an alternative to the efficient use of
>resources. Can you? From what I can see, the free
>market uses both feedback and collaboration. I'm not
>familiar with the sources you cited, I'd love if you
>could elaborate on some of those other principles.
I... want... my... textbooks.
We did this debate. Dammit. Where are my sources when I need 'em?
At any rate... there are a couple of flaws with the entire "free market
environmentalism" approach. First, it assumes that the good of the
company is the good of the world, or perhapst that the company is
considering the long term whenever they make a decision, which, sadly, is
not true. Second, it assumes that the only way to manipulate the laws of
supply and demand are to make prices artificially high (self-defeating)
when in fact prices can equally easily be kept artificially low. Witness
the price of gas in the US; witness the WalMart phenomenon. In fact,
there are dozens of "resources" that are sold for something less than
their "true" value. I had a lovely article by a noted economist on the
subject in my (grrrr) textbook.
The "efficient use of resources" is *not* a major concern of many big
companies, as far as I have been able to tell, because big companies can
afford to be less efficient. As long as the cost of resources is minor,
well... who notices a little waste here and there? Who *can* notice in a
company the size of, say, Coca-Cola?
There's also the problem of "feedback and collaboration". Huh. Ask Bill
Gates about feedback and collaboration. Anybody here *not* heard at least
a thousand Microsoft jokes? No? But he's still top dog in the computer
industry, despite the fact that there are superior systems out there. The
same is true of most big companies, as far as I know; they aren't
necessarily interested in feedback, collaboration, or, well... anything.
Examples:
Let's say that someone comes up with a great new system that will reduce
emissions from power plants. However, it costs a lot to install. Do the
big companies install it for the long-term good? Hell no.
Let's say that there's a strike ("feedback" from the workers) and demands
for better environmental measures; or, alternatively, that the neighbors
start complaining about the mercury in the water. Does the company raise
wages or reduce pollution? Hell no; they move across the border to
Mexico.
Consumers can have some effect on companies, but sadly it takes a while
for the companies to notice, plus getting the consumer's attention is
difficult, plus once they do notice the tendency is to sort of squirm out
of the question, using catchphrases with no legal meaning or just
"suggesting" that such-and-such is so- like labeling candy bars
"low-fat." (Hello? The *sugar* in 'em will still make you fat!)
Basically free-market economics does not work half so well as it's
throught to. The free market still requires, and will *always* require, a
moral checkpoint; it is not in and of itself moral, nor should it be
expected to be. Nor is it in and of itself environmental...
environmentalism and morality being much the same in my book... nor
should it be expected to be.
>I believe that we are rapidly approaching a point
>where we will begin to heal the Earth more quickly
>than we are harming it. We're certainly doing better
>now than we were 40 years ago, and that's partly due
>to people like Jeroen and Kat preaching doom and gloom
>to remind us to not get lazy and ignore our
>responsibilities.
Thank you. Do I sound *that* gloomy? You know, in my classes everybody
thought I was anti-environmentalist....
> The key is moderation, as with
>politics. We need to strike a balance so that not
>only our home is harmed as little as possible, but
>ourselves as well.
I agree. But we need to remember that "our home" and "ourselves" are not
bloody well seperate terms. We can't move to Mars.
Kat Feete
--------------
When I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he were
fighting bees.
- Abraham Lincoln
