> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of Dean Forster
[snip]
> So, we can
> promote a system that channels these manipulative
> dorks at each other where the net effect brings us
> better products. Or we can clamp down on the freedoms
> of business to innovate and expand, to the detriment
> of everyone. Is that what you're proposing? Please
> state your answer in the form of a question. ;)
I suspect I'll find myself regularly saying that I see a future of greater,
not less freedom. I think that's because there's an automatic assumption
that when we see imperfections in free markets and free speech *as presently
defined*, the solution is less freedom, not more. Although I don't think
you were suggesting I'm saying that, I do want to say loudly and clearly
that I see greater, not less freedom. But freedom comes in strange forms.
Israel begged for freedom from Egypt and the answer was a trip to the desert
with new rules to follow. Hardly what they imagined, I'm sure, since the
complaining started about one day into the new life... but the freedom they
received was the freedom that comes of living in community, which requires
rules that aren't necessary when you are a slave.
So, here's the question (glad you asked for it, as it's something I'm
starting to seriously explore, now that I've finished writing my
introductory chapters). What kind of rules would make network effects,
positive feedback, feedforward, or whatever you might call the benefits of
collaboration, work for society?
Nick
