CRONYISM VS. CAPITALISM

"The power to 'regulate the economy' is the same thing as the power to 'distribute favors'."

that is some COMPLETE BULLmeep right there...

... and a representative of the Authority Huggers chimes in.

Predictable.

@Crapalicious

@Crapalicious simply ignores the existence of regulatory capture.

And denies all of this.

@Crapalicious, see also rent-seeking.

Ah, Loki the Commie... hates Capitalism, except in its cleanest, purest forms like exhibited by those on Xenu.

Authority Huggers.

I guess there's just no way to rationally respond to such a thorough expression of your complete ignorance of reality. Well played, retard.

@BigDinWaunakee

Aw shucks, that's probably implying far more credit (for intent) than is actually due, and is just a wee bit unfair to the retards. We must remain content with the certainty that the BigmeepInWaunakee is unambiguously ignorant of all facts regarding LOki, Communism, Capitalism, ... and (apparently) Scientology.

Loki,

Calling someone a 'retard' does not qualify as argumentation you worthless, self deluding, obnoxious meep piece of meep.

I love the way you have externalized the total lack of success in your life as the product of some sort of socialist big-government conspiracy.

Be honest with yourself now... Did you ever attend public school? Ever drive on public roads? Ever had to call 911? Have you, or anyone you love ever used a social service or Medicare? Did your mom need WIC to help feed you as a child?

Isn't it possible that you're just not that remarkable a person? That you are, in fact, rather stupid, boring, small-minded, uninteresting and unintelligent? Of course not, you're a meeping genius! If only all these horrible people would only see how rad you are! Then they would get out of your way so you could really SHINE, right??? RIGHT?????

The thing that bugs me about the free market arguments is they are highly idealized. (Very ivory tower.)

They assume no company could ever become a monopoly either within a region, horizontally in the market, or vertically in the market. Monopolies are not free markets, but often emerge from free markets.

They assume no company would have any intention other than fair competitive practice in the market place. Political , GeoPolitical, Nepotism, and Religious agendas simply never exist in their model.

They assume the consumer is well informed, reasonably intelligent, able to make logical decisions based on facts, and understands what they are consuming. No way would several manufacturers collaborate to hide from the consumers that something about their product is really bad for them.

They assume the marketplace is simple enough that if something is deliberately introduced that causes obvious harm, the consumer can trace its origin back to the evildoer (whose sole motive is always more profit).

They assume that companies will also always operate in their own best long term interest. Never would a company put this quarters profit statement ahead of next years profit statement.

Calling someone a 'retard' does not qualify as argumentation you worthless, self deluding, obnoxious meep piece of meep.

I love the way you have externalized the total lack of success in your life as the product of some sort of socialist big-government conspiracy.

Be honest with yourself now... Did you ever attend public school?

Ever drive on public roads?

Ever had to call 911?

Have you, or anyone you love ever used a social service or Medicare?

Did your mom need WIC to help feed you as a child?

Isn't it possible that you're just not that remarkable a person?

That you are, in fact, rather stupid, boring, small-minded, uninteresting and unintelligent?

Of course not, you're a meeping genius!

If only all these horrible people would only see how rad you are!

Then they would get out of your way so you could really SHINE, right??? RIGHT?????

Honestly? No.

@graycube

They assume no company could ever become a monopoly either within a region, horizontally in the market, or vertically in the market. Monopolies are not free markets, but often emerge from free markets.

They assume no company would have any intention other than fair competitive practice in the market place. Political , GeoPolitical, Nepotism, and Religious agendas simply never exist in their model.

They assume the consumer is well informed, reasonably intelligent, able to make logical decisions based on facts, and understands what they are consuming. No way would several manufacturers collaborate to hide from the consumers that something about their product is really bad for them.

They assume the marketplace is simple enough that if something is deliberately introduced that causes obvious harm, the consumer can trace its origin back to the evildoer (whose sole motive is always more profit).

They assume that companies will also always operate in their own best long term interest. Never would a company put this quarters profit statement ahead of next years profit statement.

@LOki

How is Graycube wrong about this?

Where are your points to refute his points?

"You're wrong" is not an argument, and really does make you look like a "Rather stupid, boring, small-minded, uninteresting and unintelligent retard".

Well DS, I just don't consider it to be at all necessary to explain or make any argument for why cows are not birds.

Retards like crapalicious have no valid criticism for my points or for free markets or capitalism or anything, that does not conform to their authoritarian statist paradigm... so they just make meep up that they can criticize, and they assign that made up meep to the subject of their derision.

If such strawmen such as those trotted out by graycube were actually made of straw, then they'd enjoy the benefit of some kind of substance. But as it is, they're just retarded non-sequiturs.

Loki,

If the world or whatever organization you and your ilk would ever "govern", it would be just as meeped and biased towards your type as any system that involves humans. See, because your a human meep without an ounce of power, but if you obtained any real power, you would just conform it to your biases and favors, much like the current system, except you have your meep in your hand and nothing to show for your efforts, while those in power get to hook up their friends, use their influence, etc.

See, and this is highly unlikely because you are such a meepwad, but if you ever had the power, it would just be meeped, Loki-style. And some other Loki-like, with their malformed, tiny meep in their hand would be shaking their fist at the man (you) and demanding that things be different.

Since we are all assholes, it would just be the same. Just the perspective on the window would change.

Please, go back to your regular scheduled stupidity, jacking off to Lyndon Larouche neked picktures, and preaching to those that couldn't care less about what you have to say.

What I said applies to the Big meepInWaunakee as well.

That meeptard refuses to use his brain just because it rhymes with Ayn.

Hmm. If cronyism is inevitable in any eco-poltical system, should I worry about how to become a Crony instead of trying to think of ways to balance the benefits to the cronies against the benefits to the masses? Quite the dilemma.

Oh, and I think Loki just misses debating with Wotak and is feeling lonely.

Loki is just a frustrated man that has a large dose of teenage angst... or perhaps only teenage angst. Must be a lot of harumphing and "they took awr jawbs" in the circles he hangs. Perhaps a large dosage of latent homomeepuality, but you wouldn't think that of Libertarians since they believe in anything meeping anything, as long as it doesn't affect them.

graycube: Yes. Show me a system that it has evaded and I will write you into my will.

@graycube

graycube:
Hmm. If cronyism is inevitable in any eco-poltical system, should I worry about how to become a Crony instead of trying to think of ways to balance the benefits to the cronies against the benefits to the masses? Quite the dilemma.

@graycube

graycube:
Oh, and I think Loki just misses debating with Wotak and is feeling lonely.

@BigDinWaunakee

BigmeepInWaunakee:
Loki is just a frustrated man that has a large dose of teenage angst... or perhaps only teenage angst.

BigmeepInWaunakee:
Must be a lot of harumphing and "they took awr jawbs" in the circles he hangs.

BigmeepInWaunakee:
Perhaps a large dosage of latent homomeepuality, but you wouldn't think that of Libertarians since they believe in anything meeping anything, as long as it doesn't affect them.

@LOki

Hence, the suggestion being presented: remove from the political-economic equation the institutions that abridge the rights appurtenant to private ownership, and the practice of Cronyism becomes impotent as the source of its empowerment is withdrawn.

If only someone could invent a mode of wealth transfer that is decentralized and not controlled by any corporation or country.

BigDinWaunakee, you protest against any stance L0ki takes on any subject in such a manner that removes all objectivity on your side of the coin.

It really is quite childish, and I don't know how you figure that anyone reading your responses could ever take you seriously. As someone that knows L0ki in real non-internet meatspace, your description of him as a person is also equally hilarious.

Why don't you actually try to make a point on an intellectual level, instead of being an insufferable meep.

LORDKAHUNA:
Why don't you actually try to make a point on an intellectual level, instead of being an insufferable meep.

Not to diminish your sentiment in any way--because your analysis is so accurate--I have to point out that among all the retards who work so diligently to out-retard me around here, to the best of my recollection, the BigmeepInWaunakee is the only one who hasn't meeped about me recognizing their unimpeachable success.

@LORDKAHUNA

SRSLY.

@meeproach

LK,

Nice to know you aren't dead.

As for my countenance to Loki, it is just that we happen to disagree about everything. As for knowing him in tangible space or remotely, that really isn't relevant to me, because I don't know him any other way. Therefore, my opinion is only formed by his arguments or whatever you want to call them.

As for intellectual discourse, LS isn't the place for that, but it would be interesting if you could steer it that way.

As for Loki and his pseudo-intellectual stylings, they are nothing more than high school level formations of fantasy arguments with some cute, learned from the book debating techniques sprinkled about. When that tool shed gets emptied, he pretty much resorts to typical ramblings jizzed with some insults.

Since I don't come here for discourse, I enjoy my tactic, and that's really all that matters to me. In closing, if you want an intellectual debate that makes your body all tingly, please refer to some decent WF Buckley debates in the mid-70s.

As for my countenance to Loki, it is just that we happen to disagree about everything.

Obviously, also BIGSHRUG

As for knowing him in tangible space or remotely, that really isn't relevant to me, because I don't know him any other way.

This is a pet peeve of mine, where "people on the internet" are generally split into two groups:

1) People that hide behind anonymity, and think that "the internet" interactions between humans are less than legitimate.
2) People that have shifted their paradigm to this millennium and realize that virtual interactions are just as relevant as those in meatspace.

I make this distinction to you because you paint this weird picture of the ones you argue with (no matter who it is) which isn't based on 1) what they said, 2) who they are. It's like dumb old man handwaving.

Since I don't come here for discourse, I enjoy my tactic, and that's really all that matters to me. In closing, if you want an intellectual debate that makes your body all tingly, please refer to some decent WF Buckley debates in the mid-70s.

Here is the thing, nobody else really enjoys this, well more importantly I don't enjoy it.

So ask yourself, where will you be a meep on the internet when you are banned?

@LORDKAHUNA

I don't think anyone has ever been perma-banned from Linkswarm and I've always thought that was one of it's charms. This isn't Jr. high and name calling and bullying have been not only tolerated but even celebrated if done with a good sense of wit and style. If somebody needed to go away they generally just got legitamately dog-pile meep-raped until they figured it out. I respect the fact that you'll stand up for your friend, but I think Loki is more than capable of not only holding his own, but text-walling mere mortals right the meep out of existance without the help of the ban butan. None of my business really, just seemed an odd threat.

I actually think LK meant to say "zapple'd."

@godevillivedog