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>b. that's an argument against big government, not an argument against capitalism A government that is not large enough to upset an even playing field will als
by MereInterest 8y ago
>b. that's an argument against big government, not an argument against capitalism
A government that is not large enough to upset an even playing field will also not be large enough to level an uneven playing field.
- nickik 8y agoFalse. A government power derives from its monopoly of violence not from the size of its budget. There is litte correlation between the size of a govenrment and its ability to regulate.
- xg15 8y agoAre there sources for that claim?
- nickik 8y agoI don't know of any nice rankings on these things but I also can't see why it should be the case. If you have the monopoly of violence you can tell a company to do X and if they don't you can punish them. Of course it depends on the size of your population/market, if you are small, a company can just leave the country rather then comply. However that is equally true for a small country with powerful government.
- AKrumbach 8y agoThis argument seems to subtly imply that the only efficacious means to "level an uneven playing field" is government regulation, and not some other, non-government process such as boycotts. Government regulation is, ultimately, only one item in the civic toolbox of society. If it turns out this is flawed, and will in the long run generate more negative outcomes than positive ones, abandoning the tool does not mean abandoning the final goal. Instead, we must utilize alternate means of achieving the same ends... or accept that corruption as the price of our chosen path.
- quadrangle 8y agoBoycotts are historically extremely ineffective. They require absurd amounts of coordination and go against incentives each individual has. If you have strong enough coordination, we end up calling it "government".
- AKrumbach 8y agoBy your logic, a labor union "strike" must also be extremely ineffective. (They require massive coordination and go against each individual's incentive to work.) Yet they do work, and we don't call labor unions "government".
- dragonwriter 8y ago> A government that is not large enough to upset an even playing field will also not be large enough to ...effectively enforce the system of property rights which is the foundation of capitalism, since the latter is an example of the former.