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Most libertarians I know are good people that I'm proud to know. At the same time, it's like they just skipped over the entire history of the late 19th / early
by jstewartmobile 9y ago
Most libertarians I know are good people that I'm proud to know. At the same time, it's like they just skipped over the entire history of the late 19th / early 20th century.
We had immensely powerful private entities short-circuiting the avenues of democratic self-government (just like we do now!), and it took TR--a Republican, not a commie--to point the finger and do something about it. Of course, bring any of that up with them and they'll just quote one of their Austrian school bone-readers back at you as though they have just refuted you with pure logic. And even worse, Democrats and Republicans clearly worship at the same altar, just in a quieter way.
It's like people have more faith in questionable econometrics than in any innate sense of justice. Until something shakes the mainstream faith in money-money-money, the situation is going to get much worse before it gets any better.
- randyrand 9y agoI'm quite libertarian but also against monopolies and pro trust-busting. Some people think these two positions are at odds with each other. I happen to think it's the exact opposite. A large monopoly with complete control is not too different than the absolute control of an overbearing government -- something libertarians are quite against.
- jstewartmobile 9y agoIt's probably time for new ideas. Clinton administration to present has shown that regulatory agencies are very easy to capture. "Hands off" hasn't worked that well either. The senior citizens who rule us are just going to keep squabbling over the same busted ideas that were popular back when they were still sexually relevant. It is going to be a long ride...
- tooltalk 9y agoYou mean like AT&T? Wasn't AT&T's monopoly in telecommunication propped up by gov't from 1910's all the way through 1980's?
- jstewartmobile 9y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt#Trust_busting_and_regulation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt#Trust_busti... Strangely enough, Nixon was also an aggressive regulator... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon#Domestic_policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon#Domestic_policy edit: AT&T was classified as a monopoly and constrained as such. Current companies step up to the line of monopoly but no further and operate mostly without constraint.
- tooltalk 9y agoSure, but didn't AT&T continue to gouge consumers under their agreement with the gov't? and it wasn't until Thomas Carter, a private entrepreneur, challenged AT&T's monopoly in telephony that started shaking down the gov't sanctioned monopoly?
- jstewartmobile 9y agoThe Carterphone development is listed on Wikipedia[0] under "Landmark Regulatory Decision". [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone#Landmark_regulatory_decision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone#Landmark_regulatory...
- tooltalk 9y agoRight, this comes after numerous lawsuits and one humiliating defeat for AT&T and FCC in 1956.