4 ms·
This article is a great example of the straw man fallacy. The article pretends that there is an "intellectual justification" for capitalism that doesn't recogni
by avalys 6y ago
This article is a great example of the straw man fallacy. The article pretends that there is an "intellectual justification" for capitalism that doesn't recognize the need to break up monopolies to preserve the free market. I think that recognition is quite common even among "hardcore libertarians".
The article makes good points in favor of a government intervention of some kind against Amazon. But the headline and thesis is overwrought, unsupported clickbait.
(For what it's worth, in my opinion, the lack of government action in this area is good evidence that no one in power in the US right now gives two shits about the intellectual justification for capitalism).
- tehjoker 6y agoCapitalism has had many justifications over its two to four centuries of existence. The justifications you refer to held currency starting around the time of the trust busters, but that was a new idea then (and apparently not universally held since Reganomics came into fashion when the focus of anti-trust became consumer cost rather than market concentration).
- reissbaker 6y agoI think you would be hard-pressed to find any justification for capitalism that doesn't include: 1. Competition, and 2. Property rights. This article does effectively slam Amazon for violating both of those capitalist tenets. But it doesn't effectively say anything about capitalism; the whole problem with Amazon is that it's violating capitalist tenets by being an anti-competitive monopoly, with enough power that it can steal intellectual property with impunity. If there was meaningful competition, and Amazon was forced to respect intellectual property rights... At least as presented by this article, there wouldn't seem to be a problem. Capitalism isn't anti-government — it relies on governments so that businesses don't have their property stolen. Amazon's business practices do indeed suck though, and seem (to me) to be illegal. The US government should step in forcefully.
- tehjoker 6y agoI would argue the article correctly points out that the tendency of capitalism via the prism of Amazon is to concentrate wealth and power and undermine the justifications that it grew out of.