Message 13/17
Date: 31-Jul-06 @ 02:16 AM -
RE: us electronic voting whistleblower
Not really into the profit cap as a limit either. Could be a % cap however. Owner gets x%, management y%, prols z%. There's no cap on how much you earn, just on your take (curbing greed if you like).
If we lived in a utopia I'd agree that competition and a free market would be a good way, though the same could be said for Socialism, and I suppose the best of all in a utopia would be anarchy - no need for rules cos we all 'dig' each other.
Back in the real world, free competition leads to corruption and violence as people are always looking for an edge by bending or breaking the rules (or ultimately winning, dominating all competition - think computer software and media magnates - delivering a self-righteous oligarchy. Same for Socialism with the administrators living it up and the rest lumping it. I've always striven for autonomy (personal responsibility, create your own reality, etc) and hoped to avoid very bad situations that might cause behaviour counter to my aim.
But if we are going to persevere with the notion of society, then the 'minarchist' (apt, like the name) ideas seem good to me. Yes to full public access to gov documents, especially financial. Yes to a defense system, and to funding it from the taxes of the people it is there to protect (Americans should grasp that point), but no to trading in weapons. Build the best we can and keep 'em for our use. Seems insane to profit from arming our (or anyone elses) potential future enemies - but that's a different post.
Institutional regulation doesn't equal more freedom, quite right, so strip out the obscure and privileged regulations, the tiers of admin and state nannying. There are too many hideously sick and/or stupid people to do without some rules and means of enforcement.
A hoax? Americans with humour so close to the bone? I really hope that's true! But somehow...