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Negative externalities. The cost of poor security isn't included in the price of an Android phone but it's paid for by society. Libertarianism doesn't have a g
by pdog 9y ago
Negative externalities. The cost of poor security isn't included in the price of an Android phone but it's paid for by society.
Libertarianism doesn't have a good answer for economic externalities.
- zanny 9y agoTheir answer is supposed to be perfect economic information and all actors acting rationally and fully informed in all transactions. We have seen cultures adopt and change wildly, quickly, and fundamentally - just look at Russia, China, Japan, and Germany in the last 100 years - but the real libertarian breakthrough would be a reproducible way to shift a nations conscience to perfect information and absolute rationality in all business affairs.
- 1123581321 9y agoLibertarian view is essentially 1) all negative externalities are some kind of property/personal infringement, 2) the same values that urge regulation also urge externality-free purchasing preferences, 3) people free of large tax/regulatory burdens have an easier time fixing social problems, 4) sometimes the externality is worth bearing (e.g. it may be worth temporary security problems to get a billion smartphones into the developing world now.) I found these pretty easily by googling 'mises' and 'externalities' and while I could debate the specifics of the points, they seem to be just as legitimate an answer as regulation, which we know has its own negative externalities.