Tom said:
>First, let me state that
>I am in favour of the tone of Eva's post. There is a tacit agreement
>throughout government and academia that the poor will always be with us and
>it comes out of the total acceptance of the concept of "the economy" which
>is based on the concept of "profit" which by it's very nature implies that
>some will gain while others lose.
No, it doesn't. If you profit from my excellent goods, and indeed many
others do also, I will earn a profit from my service to you consumers.
When a trade takes place, both sides are better off (have made a profit) or
they wouldn't have traded.
What, perhaps, both of you are angry at is 'privilege' income. This is
income that comes from a licence to occupy a valuable location (given by
the State). Or, the income that comes from some other privilege, such as
that given by trade restrictions, both inside the country and at the borders.
A privilege is a 'private law' (a privi lege). It gives an advantage to one
at the expense of the other. These private laws are passed by legislatures
of various kinds. At times, it seems to be their sole job.
You wouldn't ask the burglar to put locks on your doors. That, I fear, is
what you are doing when you ask Congress or Parliament to stop this handing
out the special deals to their favorites.
Their favorites are of course mainly corporations and unions, who often
swill at the same trough. The unions are anti-free trade like their
employers, because that provides higher prices with which the corporations
get better bottom lines and the unions push up their wages.
The fact that these benefits are at the expense of the whole population is
of little concern to the fatcats in either organization.
And you are both worried about 'profit'.
We'll never get done the "underlying job to change this outdated, chaotic,
uncontrollable anti-human system" (Tom) and we'll never accomplish the
ultimate reform (Eva) - the ending of poverty - while we fool around with
this outdated socialist thinking.
I'm a radical advocating a completely free market in conditions of social
justice. I'm the fellow who stands in the middle of the road while the
corporation behemoths thunder in one direction and the socialist
juggernauts pound along the other.
Not a very safe position - but when one's heart is pure . . . . . . .
Harry
