In article <1992Aug11.151010.18532@hellgate.utah.edu>, tolman%asylum.cs.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Kenneth Tolman) writes:
bj368@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike E. Romano) wrote:
> >> There has never been any society in history which has even come close
> >> to a "libertarian" system.
> >> Libertarians fantasize that as soon as one becomes a business owner,
> >> one is by definition holy, saintlike, etc.
>
so I wrote:
> >But if a "Business Owner" can do all these nasty things, what makes you
> >think your local regulator doesn't do them?
to which tolman%asylum.cs.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Kenneth Tolman) replied:
>
> Because there is investigation into them as well. As long as you have two
> opposed regulation agencies, they will watch each other for problems.
> In our system, one of those regulation agencies is the media- but that is
> not a sufficient protection alone against business.
and I reply:
Now I'm really confused. "Business Owners" are bad, so they need gov't
to look after them. But gov't might be bad, so we need the press to
look after them. Why can't the press regulate businesses? It seems like
the press has more work than it would in a libertarian society. And the
obvious question: why isn't the press (they own a business, too) nasty?
What incentive do I have in making sure that those I do business with are reliable? After all, they're regulated. The regulators, however, don't get screwed. And when I do, they don't take the responsibility. Taxis are regulated, but if a licensed cab driver rips you off, the regulators aren't fined for letting him drive a cab.
The press has the same incentive as everyone else: make money. If this isn't a good incentive for "Business Owners," why is it ok for the regulators? GE (you know, the defense contractor that does all that work for the gov't) owns NBC news.
Finally, if gov't (and the press) are here because "Business Owners do bad things", why do "bad things" still happen?
----
"Oh Life's a Cabaret
Like Berlin, 1930,
All I crave is my escape" --Dead Kennedys, "Saturday Night Holocaust"
rgds-- TA (uucp: uunet!fed!m1tca00 | internet: m1tca00@fed.frb.gov)
