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Negative externalities are a real thing. Markets are a very powerful tool. But they also have various failure modes.
by dwaltrip 7y ago
Negative externalities are a real thing. Markets are a very powerful tool. But they also have various failure modes.
- CamperBob2 7y agoUnregulated monopolies have drawbacks, but so do government-regulated ones. (It's OK, I'll understand if you can't reply right away if you're on PG&E power.) Centralization of resources is the real enemy.
- scarface74 7y agoPG&E and all utilities are heavily regulated.
- CamperBob2 7y agoNo! Say it isn't so.
- scarface74 7y agoSo government regulation isn’t a panacea.....
- dwaltrip 7y agoI was mainly responding to the statement: > More government involvement is seldom the right answer Are there workable solutions to negative externalities other than government involvement? Obviously, regulation doesn't always work perfectly, but until some other way of handling negative externalities is discovered, it seems we should focus on improving how regulation is done those cases. There are other arguments for government, but I find this to be the simplest and most compelling.
- scarface74 7y agoAre there workable solutions to negative externalities other than government involvement? When it comes to tech, "negative externalities" usually equals "a company is doing something I don't like" not "a company is killing people or harming the environment".
- dwaltrip 7y agoThe main reason for my reply was that it seemed like your comment was making broad statements about government, such as implying that government is incapable of competently tackling any problem. I responded in kind with a broad statement as I felt that was a harmful sweeping generalization that ignored fundamental dynamics such as negative externalities, and needed to be challenged. Edit: Sorry for the repeated edits.