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> Why do cries of "free market!!1" always seem to end up meaning "I want to profit at the expense of the public good"? Jeez, I wonder how many calories you

> Why do cries of "free market!!1" __always__ seem to end up meaning "I want to profit at the expense of the public good"? Jeez, I wonder how many calories you burn each day by jumping into conclusions... The entire internet was built by free market ethos in the sense that it was a network of people doing what they thought was best for them and their causes. But ofc, that´s not as important now is it? after all, once the fruits of the free market ripens, somehow the rules change and suddenly "public good" means whatever people want it to mean as long as it extracts value in their favor. Now don´t get me wrong, I dislike this .org bullshit as much as the next guy, but imagine if I would have said: Why do cries of "public good!!1" __always__ end up meaning "I want to abolish all profits and usher in the marxist utopia"? It would be utterly stupid of me to say that because that is not the case, and the same goes for your statement.

BLKNSLVR 7y ago
> Why do cries of "free market!!1" __always__ seem to end up meaning "I want to profit at the expense of the public good"? That matches the reality I've found myself reading about in the news for the last decade or so. Regular folk don't go declaring "free market", they don't need to, they just get on with things. It's those who feel they need to distract from or justify their actions that declare "free market" mainly because that shuts up the majority of critics who refuse to follow the money trail back to their sponsors. Hypercapitalism and Piketty's "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" and all that.
ausbah 7y ago
The internet started as a government program, and so much for a "free market" when monopolistic ISPs control access to it.
jon-wood 7y ago
The Internet was built via a combination of defense funding and universities who thought it was a good idea. The free market didn't get involved until much later on in the process.

> Why do cries of "free market!!1" __always__ seem to end up meaning "I want to profit at the expense of the public good"? Jeez, I wonder how many calories you

BLKNSLVR 7y ago

> Why do cries of "free market!!1" __always__ seem to end up meaning "I want to profit at the expense of the public good"? That matches the reality I've found myself reading about in the news for the last decade or so. Regular folk don't go declaring "free market", they don't need to, they just get on with things. It's those who feel they need to distract from or justify their actions that declare "free market" mainly because that shuts up the majority of critics who refuse to follow the money trail back to their sponsors. Hypercapitalism and Piketty's "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" and all that.

ausbah 7y ago

The internet started as a government program, and so much for a "free market" when monopolistic ISPs control access to it.

jon-wood 7y ago

The Internet was built via a combination of defense funding and universities who thought it was a good idea. The free market didn't get involved until much later on in the process.