It’s always struck me as extremely odd that leftists fawn over using government to protect us from corporations. What do they think the government is? The fawning is quite indicative of their ignorance in at least ten ways.
Tag: profits
The American Way of War
Contrary to popular misconception, the war state did not begin in 1945. From the start, war was an acceptable means to national policy ends, whether to open markets or to install friendly regimes. It’s a gross understatement to call this record shameful.
Marx Was Wrong
Marx really didn’t understand anything about economics. Economics seems to be all about human motivations. He didn’t seem to understand anyone’s motivation except his own. And apparently he was insane.
Change the World for Fun & Profit
Doing things like starting a business or pursuing a career in the arts is usually regarded as selfish and greedy. And even when we do support the people who pursue these things, we’re still hesitant to think of them as revolutionaries and freedom-fighters in the same way that we’d think of politicians and philanthropist.
The Back Story 007 – The Secret Reason for War (4m)
The Back Story 007 identifies the secret reason that nation-states go to war so often: “War… it is the oldest, most profitable and most vicious racket in history. It is the only racket in which profits are counted in dollars and the losses are counted in lives.” – General Butler
Markets and Politics Are Both about Scarcity
People succeed in markets by reducing scarcity–that is, by easing scarcity’s grip on their fellow humans. And the more they ease scarcity’s grip, the greater their success. Profits are earned in competitive markets only by successfully making desired goods and services less scarce than they would otherwise be.
Liberty and Community Go Together
There is a form of community that is the whole basis of the market economy. It is an extended network of human relationships worked out in peace and mutual agreement. So far as we know, the capacity to form such cooperative relationships is distinct to the human experience.
Things to Keep in Mind During the Health Care Debate
Politicians, of course, can declare a right to medical care, but those are mere words. What counts is what happens after the declaration. Since a system in which everyone could have, on demand, all the medical care they wanted at no cost would be unsustainable, the so-called right to medical care necessarily translates into the power of politicians and bureaucrats to set the terms under which medical services and products may be provided and received.
Political Power-Lust Thrives in a Democracy
Under democracy, politicians are less candid about their motives; they need us to like them, and power-hunger is not likeable. But given its ubiquity throughout most of political history, can we really believe that the motive of power-hunger is no longer paramount? One of my favorite political insiders privately calls politicians of both parties “psychopaths”–and he’s on to something. Rising high on the pyramid of power is hard unless the love of power fuels your ascent.
Anarchism as Constitutionalism
Trying to refute anarchism by pointing to undesirable instances of anarchy is about as bad an argument as trying to refute Bidinotto’s advocacy of government by pointing to the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany. Whether a state is horrendous or decent depends in large part on its constitutional structure; whether an anarchic society is horrendous or decent likewise depends on its constitutional structure.