vision2020
Re: Moscow Civic Association
Melynda,
You wrote that government is the "effective regulator" of
commerce and industry. But civil government is incapable of even regulating the
making of a pencil (see the irenic article I Pencil: http://www.self-gov.org/freeman/9605read.html).
Also, I would argue that if the government is the
regulator, then ownership is in name only.
Tell me, who really owns my house (when I own it
outright)? If I were not to pay my property taxes, what then? The state comes
and confiscates it and sells it. At that point, my ownership is in actuality
just renting from the state.
And finally, do I really own my house when I am
told what I can and cannot do with it? I cannot even put a deck on my house
without getting governmental approval to do so. I cannot setup a grey-water
system without jumping thru all of the regulatory hoops that add $10,000 to the
cost of the system!
My point in my above rant (a raw nerve for this economic
libertarian) is that when governments are the "effective regulator", they are
not effective (see Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations); and they in reality
do own it (even though they let us pretend that we do).
Pax,
Dale
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, November 09, 2002 10:39
PM
Subject: Re: Moscow Civic
Association
Dear Dale,
Progressivism promotes government as an
effective regulator of commerce and industry, but does not
call for the public or collective ownership of the means of
production.
Best,
Melynda
----- Original Message -----
From:
Dale Courtney
Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 10:29
AM
Subject: RE: Moscow Civic
Association
Melynda Huskey wrote:
> The progressive movement
was/is "a reform movement (beginning
> in the first
> decades
of the 20th century) principally focused on the role of the
>
government (local, state, and national) in alleviating the
> economic
and
> social disarray brought about by the rapid urbanization and
> industrialization of America."
Can you please tell me
the difference between this definition and that
of socialism?
Dale Courtney
Moscow, Idaho
Free to be me, free to be you (as
long as you agree with Tom Hansen...)
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