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I'm thinking Somalia. Small groups of war lords and their financers running the show. Child labor, kid nappings, people being payed off. You know all the good stuff
If there was no welfare of any kind, no regulations, unlimited lobbying - a complete, corporate free for all, what would America be like? Do you think the benefits would trickle down to the masses due to limits being lifted on the innovation and entrepreneurship from great minds like Steve Wozniak, Miley Cyrus, and the Waltons, or would America turn into a plutocratic third world hell hole?
With the morals of people today it would not work out. The evil and greedy people would clearly try to take advantage of the honest and hard working. It would result in more division than we have now. The key is morals and consideration, which many people lack. What is going on now is not much different, unfortunately.
If there was no welfare of any kind, no regulations, unlimited lobbying - a complete, corporate free for all, what would America be like? Do you think the benefits would trickle down to the masses due to limits being lifted on the innovation and entrepreneurship from great minds like Steve Wozniak, Miley Cyrus, and the Waltons, or would America turn into a plutocratic third world hell hole?
On the other side of the coin, what would America be like if everything were regulated and the government controlled all aspects of everyone's lives such as what you will do for a job, how many kids you will have, who you will marry, where you will live, what will you eat, what will you read, etc. What would that America be like?
On the other side of the coin, what would America be like if everything were regulated and the government controlled all aspects of everyone's lives such as what you will do for a job, how many kids you will have, who you will marry, where you will live, what will you eat, what will you read, etc. What would that America be like?
Much of that seems to be already happening with the two parties in power now:
what you will do for a job: GOP is vying for the Cast system. If you are born rich, you get priveledge, if not, you get to do labor
how many kids you will have: not totally being controlled yet, just be careful and pull out in time.
who you will marry: GOP will control who you CAN'T Marry
where you will live: Dems will only allow you in planned housing, GOP will keep all the non-whites in ghetto's and have them serve the master.
what will you eat: Dems will limit what size soda or fries you can have. Reps will likely outlaw anything Halal in an effort to bolster National Security.
what will you read: Reps are already trying to limit what you can read, what can be taught, and what is in the library.... Tipper Gore (Dem) went down that path too.
I did my best to attack both sides, and to perhaps inject a little humor too. Point is that our liberties are going away at the hands of both parties in Washington....
A 100% free market would be reminiscent of late 19th, early 20th Century. Not good. Free market with minimal rules and controls is best. Getting people to agree on the right level of "no rules" is next to impossible.
If there was no welfare of any kind, no regulations, unlimited lobbying - a complete, corporate free for all, what would America be like? Do you think the benefits would trickle down to the masses due to limits being lifted on the innovation and entrepreneurship from great minds like Steve Wozniak, Miley Cyrus, and the Waltons, or would America turn into a plutocratic third world hell hole?
There is no such thing as a free market. It's a myth.
What is being described both in the OP straw man and the subsequent appeals to ridicule is not any libertarian or Austrian version of a free market. Free market economics is not anarchy, nor does it involve political cronysim (which involves government and purchases tyranny).
A free market is from free government INTERVENTION, COERCION and OPPRESSION. And most libertarian theory accepts that one of the few necessary functions of a small and limited government is to protect the individual's rights in regard to contracts, as in being impartial referee who simply adjudicates when any party in a contract seeks to violate the terms they agreed upon.
Now, if we are talking about an actual economic system based on laissez faire capitalism, i.e. the Internet marketplace of no borders and much commerce as a decent modern example, then the 100% free market would function in a similar way. There'd be winners, there'd be losers, and the 99% in between would conduct voluntary transactions to the mutual satisfaction of both buyer and seller, every second of every minute of every hour of every day. The Internet economy is larger than the GDP of all but 6 nations in the world, and it is the least regulated marketplace in existence.
Examine that economy, and ask how it works for the average participant? Seems to be working just fine if you ask me. Yes, there are scammers, predators, criminals, etc. But one of my own stories can help illustrate how fast a truly free market with massive competition and near instant word of mouth publicity handles the unscrupulous...
I made a purchase on PayPal about two years ago. The seller had fluffed their own ratings and looked like a reputable vendor. OK, so I drop my $37 and am promised delivery within a specified time frame. After the time period expired, I contacted the seller, who began tap dancing, sidestepping, and generally obfuscating like all scammers do. I then replied that they had exactly 5 minutes to either post my refund to PayPal or I would notify PayPal that they were a scammer and should be blocked on PayPal as an accepted vendor. They waited 5 minutes to see if I was bluffing, then I reported them to PayPal as I said, and within 1 minute of PayPal sending both myself and the vendor the confirmation of my complaint, the vendor was falling all over themselves to get me to rescind my report, to get PayPal off their back, apology apology apology, etc. No authorities needed, no government regs, no lawyers, nothing. Just a free market working out a problem over $37. No small claims court would even hear a case about $37, and I resolved mine in under a half hour.
Nowhere is the power of competition and the penalty for not making your customer happy more visible than the Internet. It works so well BECAUSE it is the least governed of all marketplaces. Bad guys on the Internet don't get government cronies to hide behind. They get hammered in the free and open marketplace of not just products, but of marketing, ideas and speech. One look at Amazon slapping down Mediabridge tells you all you need to know. Mediabridge went running to Leviathan (threatening to sue) for protection from a dissatisfied customer saying ugly things about them, and Amazon revoked Mediabridge's selling license on their site, because Amazon makes any retailer that sells through sign an agreement to not hassle customers about bad reviews. Mediabridge broke the agreement and went running to Leviathan for a "yeah but" legal exception, and Amazon used the power of the free market to win not just for themselves but for the harassed and threatened customer.
Yes, there is some regulation to the Internet, but less than in virtually any other large economic system, and it works better than any other large economic system where the flow of capital is concerned. It's not anarchy, and it isn't 100% free, but it's closer than anything else. So you tell me...how well does it work?
What is being described both in the OP straw man and the subsequent appeals to ridicule is not any libertarian or Austrian version of a free market. Free market economics is not anarchy, nor does it involve political cronysim (which involves government and purchases tyranny).
A free market is from free government INTERVENTION, COERCION and OPPRESSION. And most libertarian theory accepts that one of the few necessary functions of a small and limited government is to protect the individual's rights in regard to contracts, as in being impartial referee who simply adjudicates when any party in a contract seeks to violate the terms they agreed upon.
Now, if we are talking about an actual economic system based on laissez faire capitalism, i.e. the Internet marketplace of no borders and much commerce as a decent modern example, then the 100% free market would function in a similar way. There'd be winners, there'd be losers, and the 99% in between would conduct voluntary transactions to the mutual satisfaction of both buyer and seller, every second of every minute of every hour of every day. The Internet economy is larger than the GDP of all but 6 nations in the world, and it is the least regulated marketplace in existence.
Examine that economy, and ask how it works for the average participant? Seems to be working just fine if you ask me. Yes, there are scammers, predators, criminals, etc. But one of my own stories can help illustrate how fast a truly free market with massive competition and near instant word of mouth publicity handles the unscrupulous...
I made a purchase on PayPal about two years ago. The seller had fluffed their own ratings and looked like a reputable vendor. OK, so I drop my $37 and am promised delivery within a specified time frame. After the time period expired, I contacted the seller, who began tap dancing, sidestepping, and generally obfuscating like all scammers do. I then replied that they had exactly 5 minutes to either post my refund to PayPal or I would notify PayPal that they were a scammer and should be blocked on PayPal as an accepted vendor. They waited 5 minutes to see if I was bluffing, then I reported them to PayPal as I said, and within 1 minute of PayPal sending both myself and the vendor the confirmation of my complaint, the vendor was falling all over themselves to get me to rescind my report, to get PayPal off their back, apology apology apology, etc. No authorities needed, no government regs, no lawyers, nothing. Just a free market working out a problem over $37. No small claims court would even hear a case about $37, and I resolved mine in under a half hour.
Nowhere is the power of competition and the penalty for not making your customer happy more visible than the Internet. It works so well BECAUSE it is the least governed of all marketplaces. Bad guys on the Internet don't get government cronies to hide behind. They get hammered in the free and open marketplace of not just products, but of marketing, ideas and speech. One look at Amazon slapping down Mediabridge tells you all you need to know. Mediabridge went running to Leviathan (threatening to sue) for protection from a dissatisfied customer saying ugly things about them, and Amazon revoked Mediabridge's selling license on their site, because Amazon makes any retailer that sells through sign an agreement to not hassle customers about bad reviews. Mediabridge broke the agreement and went running to Leviathan for a "yeah but" legal exception, and Amazon used the power of the free market to win not just for themselves but for the harassed and threatened customer.
Yes, there is some regulation to the Internet, but less than in virtually any other large economic system, and it works better than any other large economic system where the flow of capital is concerned. It's not anarchy, and it isn't 100% free, but it's closer than anything else. So you tell me...how well does it work?
I think you are all missing the boat! In fact, I know you are. What kind of society that would develop, would totally depend on the Faith of the society. A good solid Christian belief would temper the greed and all the rest and actually it would be great to live in such a place unless and until people began turning their backs to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Sound vaguely familiar?
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