[clue-talk] Wow, Card's a little political...

[Angelo Bertolli]

Jed S. Baer wrote:
> On Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:41:51 -0400
> Angelo Bertolli wrote:
>
>   
>> I think the 
>> colloquial idea and discussion of socialism always implies there is 
>> capitalism.
>>     
>
> Well, I have to say that's a unique, in my experience, definition of
> socialism.
>
>   
>> Humans do have some shared resources and we do all affect
>> each other in some areas.  To not acknowledge this in your political
>> philosophy is to have an unrealistic political philosophy.
>>     
>
> Not at all. Respect for property rights handles how we affect one another
> quite well. Socialism, by contrast, has no respect whatsoever for
> property rights. Sharing is fine when it's voluntary. But when it's seen
> as an entitlement, then you have things such as the classic "free rider"
> problem. Again, I refer to Thomas Sowell's "Basic Economics", which
> explains the role of price in allocating scarce resources. The capitalist
> economy allocates resources more efficiently, and thus has less waste.
> It's actually more beneficial to all, because production is more
> efficient, thus there's more stuff -- food, water, etc. -- to go around,
> than some idealistic notion of "shared" stuff. If there's no profit to
> the producers, what incentive do they have to invest in better machinery,
> fertilizer, etc.? Again, I point to the Soviet Union, where people
> starved to death because of the myth of resources being owned by everyone.
>   
Well I guess I'll make one last response before I concede to the 
inability to track all these threads.  I hope you and Collins won't find 
it rude if I give up so early... ;)

We share the atmosphere, if for no other reason that we have to.  Any 
pollution you put into the air, affects me.  If you make money and this 
is a byproduct, I am paying a price for your profit.  (I bet you're 
going to say that pollution isn't a problem, and that the air we breathe 
is every bit as good as it was 5000 years ago, but this is really just 
an example.)  So this, for me, a great example of a "shared resource" 
and how it may imply that we need something more than pure capitalism.

Angelo