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> seem very devoted to supporting mercantilism and cronyism America was arguably made great via the free markets and market forces. People know this instinctiv

> seem very devoted to supporting mercantilism and cronyism America was arguably made great via the free markets and market forces. People know this instinctively. However, these same firms now push this idea to become rent-seekers, and I don't feel like we've seen an adjustment from the left of politics to counter this, or point out economic market failures. cf: safety regulations. Seen as hurting business. Yes, they stop individual companies making super-normal profits. But that's because they're stopping these same companies from selling the common good for profit. Wildly off on a tangent, I wonder if we're not going to see someone running on an anti-corruption platform at some point soon, where corruption is explicitly inclusive of: lobbying, rent-seeking, gerrymandering, and so on.

anoncoward111 8y ago
I hope someone does run but I'm not optimistic they would deliver. I am biased. I hate regulation because it isn't applied fairly. My gf's parents had their dry cleaner business shut down by NY state, who fined them $50,000 for allegedly failing to dispose of chemicals. They never paid, NY state never sued. However, Lawrence Aviation Co DID dump chemicals in NY state that permanently destroyed the water supply in Port Jefferson NY. The owner was fined $100,000, a small percentage of his networth compared to my gf's parents who are paycheck to paycheck. He served 1 year in prison despite potentially poisoning the 100,000 people who were on the local water supply.
- shanghaiaway 8y ago
  American-style democracy aka managed democracy aka inverted totalitarianism
mrunkel 8y ago
Also arguably, America was made great by an abundance of exploitable resources, a government that was only occasionally interested in health and safety regulations, and a steady stream of low cost easily exploitable immigrants. :)
philipps 8y ago
Another important factor was blatant disregard for other country’s intellectual property - something the US now criticizes China for. A well researched book that covers how the UK and later the US “borrowed” technology from other countries to fuel their economic development is “Kicking away the ladder”.

anoncoward111 8y ago

I hope someone does run but I'm not optimistic they would deliver. I am biased. I hate regulation because it isn't applied fairly. My gf's parents had their dry cleaner business shut down by NY state, who fined them $50,000 for allegedly failing to dispose of chemicals. They never paid, NY state never sued. However, Lawrence Aviation Co DID dump chemicals in NY state that permanently destroyed the water supply in Port Jefferson NY. The owner was fined $100,000, a small percentage of his networth compared to my gf's parents who are paycheck to paycheck. He served 1 year in prison despite potentially poisoning the 100,000 people who were on the local water supply.

shanghaiaway 8y ago
American-style democracy aka managed democracy aka inverted totalitarianism

mrunkel 8y ago

Also arguably, America was made great by an abundance of exploitable resources, a government that was only occasionally interested in health and safety regulations, and a steady stream of low cost easily exploitable immigrants. :)

philipps 8y ago

Another important factor was blatant disregard for other country’s intellectual property - something the US now criticizes China for. A well researched book that covers how the UK and later the US “borrowed” technology from other countries to fuel their economic development is “Kicking away the ladder”.