How in the world did Bill Maher ever come to be known as a "libertarian?"
In this video clip, Maher expresses his frustration at the few tiny scraps of freedom remaining in the United States. He is furious that Obama has not yet enacted total Stalinism. Good grief.
Stephan Kinsella has expelled Bill Maher from the libertarian movement.
ReplyDeleteBill Maher and me are two folks cut from the same cloth. We both want social libertarianism, but we have come to realize that when companies run things, all you get is poisoned and ripped off.
ReplyDeleteEight years of deregulation, and you still cling to the lies of market anarchy? Read a history book about the turn of the last century... we've already been here before.
Perhaps Ginx it is you should do some reading on history?
ReplyDeleteStart with this.
Eight years of deregulation
ReplyDeleteRegulation increased during the Bush years.
You have fallen for vulgar liberalism.
Sorry, there is simply no doubt that Bush filled his regulatory positions with former industry insiders who had no intention of actually regulating.
ReplyDeleteI'll read everything you guys linked to. However, realize that companies are driven by profit, not the harm they cause to their customers or society. They are also inherently deceptive when it comes to presenting consumers with the tools necessary for product risk-assessment. Without the government to protect the people from vicious laissez-faire capitalists, you end up with conditions similar to those outlined in Sinclair's "The Jungle."
Government's primary roles are to protect the citizenry, sometimes even from each other (though I oppose government protecting individuals from themselves, this is not the same as preventing crimes between citizens).
It's come to my attention that people may assume I'm talking about anything relating to the financial crisis (since this is what Bill was talking about, when infact I haven't even seen last Friday's show to know). I am not. I'm more concerned with Bush's deregulation of things from the FDA/USDA to the EPA.
ReplyDeleteI guess it was just too inconvenient to have clean food or even a half-hearted attempt at evironmental controls.
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ReplyDeleteFor the record, this is the economic deregulation that DID in fact occur.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_Futures_Modernization_Act_of_2000
Fucking third time's the charm, I guess. Just search for Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000
ReplyDeleteGinx,
ReplyDeleteI want clean food too. It may interest you to know that the original meat inspection laws were written by giant corporations to squash their smaller competitors.
Few companies are stupid enough to kill their customers. In any case, market anarchism would still have regulation, except it would be done by competing regulators (best regulation at the lowest price) instead of a government monopoly.
It would be impossible to count the massive number of sick and dying people the FDA kills by refusing to release new drugs and health products (usually for the benefit of certain large companies).
BTW, your reference to "The Jungle" was discussed in the "vulgar liberalism" link I gave you.
ReplyDelete