Tim May wrote: > > At 9:13 AM -0700 6/21/00, Lizard wrote: > > > >I do not know of any libertarian or right-anarchist who believes a > >capitalist society can exist without some means of demanding > >compensation for fraud. If you contract to buy apples and I sell you > >potatoes instead, there must be some means of extracting justice. > > Polycentric law. Make arrangements privately. Already presumed. The contract between myself and the seller of the product is "This product will perform as you claim it will". That has been violated. All that remains is to gain compensation. > If you "contract" for a restaurant review, for example, and you are > unhappy with the accuracy or usefulness of the review, then look to > what arbitration or remediation arrangements you and the reviewer > have made. In a truly libertarian society, sure. But as you're probably aware, we don't live in one. Sadly, the current social order frowns on me extracting my pound of flesh on my own initiative, so I am forced to resort to existing mechanisms. Now, an argument can be made that by using the system, I'm supporting it, but that's neither here nor there... > But don't ask _me_ or my neighbors to intervene in _your_ failure to > make such arrangements. Actually, I can very well ask, and might even convince you to help. (Well, not you PERSONALLY, but...) It's always been my contention that, absent compelled 'cooperation', humans will tend be a lot more helpful to one another. (Most cultures prior to compassion-at-gunpoint were quite generous)
