Understanding why people oppose markets is very useful, but I’ve already got many redundant sources of information helping me at that task. Having a forum where discussion isn’t infected by “Why do all those wrong-thinking people oppose our truth?” would also be very useful, but there I’m mostly out of luck. I can split my time between the liberal (conservatives and libertarians are so heartless!) and conservative (liberals and libertarians are so evil!) and libertarian (liberals and conservatives are so stupid!) sites instead, but a diverse selection of people talking past each other is much less valuable than a diverse selection talking to each other.
Oppose markets is useful if your are proposing some kind of institutional reform, and the traditional dynamics are not optimal. The author of the article apparently assumes less disagreement only because some groups, like intellectuals, are not sufficient rewarded.
The problem with libertarianism is that it all too often takes for granted the products of highly sophisticated system of government regulation. The typical young highly privileged person’s libertarianism is an incredibly disgusting sight. I do believe we need more harmonized free trade though. Right now some types of resources (natural resources, the processing of natural resources) is freely traded worldwide, while other type of resources (human labour on-site) is not freely traded, resulting in a situation whereby in the countries with largest per capita resource consumptions (‘developed countries’) it is cheaper to build on-site a poorly thermally insulated shack and put aircon on it, than to build better thermally insulated housing. This is rather bad for environment. Furthermore the taxes go to support the citizens of same country, not those most in need, and a non-nationalistic person can’t really support that either.
Understanding why people oppose markets is very useful, but I’ve already got many redundant sources of information helping me at that task. Having a forum where discussion isn’t infected by “Why do all those wrong-thinking people oppose our truth?” would also be very useful, but there I’m mostly out of luck. I can split my time between the liberal (conservatives and libertarians are so heartless!) and conservative (liberals and libertarians are so evil!) and libertarian (liberals and conservatives are so stupid!) sites instead, but a diverse selection of people talking past each other is much less valuable than a diverse selection talking to each other.
For example, many of those sites that should otherwise know better are incapable of discussing futurist ideas without pigeonholing them politically. For a recent example: “There is a rottenness at the heart of the transhuman project … mythology of the smugly self-satisfied hypercapitalists who have unintentionally done so much to destroy so many of the moral and interpersonal values of post-Englightenment civilization.” If Charlie Freaking Stross can no longer discuss the singularity without digressing into anti-free-market ranting, that suggests it might be particularly valuable to maintain futurist discussion forums in which economic liberals can participate without being treated like ignorant specimens in need of re-education.
Oppose markets is useful if your are proposing some kind of institutional reform, and the traditional dynamics are not optimal. The author of the article apparently assumes less disagreement only because some groups, like intellectuals, are not sufficient rewarded.
The problem with libertarianism is that it all too often takes for granted the products of highly sophisticated system of government regulation. The typical young highly privileged person’s libertarianism is an incredibly disgusting sight. I do believe we need more harmonized free trade though. Right now some types of resources (natural resources, the processing of natural resources) is freely traded worldwide, while other type of resources (human labour on-site) is not freely traded, resulting in a situation whereby in the countries with largest per capita resource consumptions (‘developed countries’) it is cheaper to build on-site a poorly thermally insulated shack and put aircon on it, than to build better thermally insulated housing. This is rather bad for environment. Furthermore the taxes go to support the citizens of same country, not those most in need, and a non-nationalistic person can’t really support that either.