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I am in awe of how subtly and artfully deceptive this essay is. One of the best pieces of propaganda I have ever read. Summarized in this passage: Once governm

by MikeUt 6y ago

I am in awe of how subtly and artfully deceptive this essay is. One of the best pieces of propaganda I have ever read. Summarized in this passage: Once government has had a monopoly of a creative activity such, for instance, as the delivery of the mails, most individuals will believe that the mails could not be efficiently delivered by men acting freely. Is that really why people push for some services to be government provided? I thought it was because some services are too easy to abuse, such as the ancient Roman fire services that would buy burning houses at a steep discount. Or modern US healthcare, that does all it can to hide prices from patients. Or ISPs and phone companies, selling browsing and location data. And are men not acting freely if their activities are tax-funded? If market forces compel us to purchase a product or take a job (e.g. in a company town, for scrip), this is freedom, but if we democratically agree to communally fund a service, that's serfdom?

dredmorbius 6y ago
Quite. John Quiggan has one of the better responses, and lists others: https://johnquiggin.com/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/ https://johnquiggin.com/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the... Also at Crooked Timber, with extensive comments, some Worstall than others: https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/ https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-t... Nabokov's response (similarly titled "I, Pencil"): https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/#comment-355445 https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-t... "I, Residential Mortgage-backed Security Collaterialized Debt Obligation." https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/#comment-355404 https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-t... The Freakonomics critique is weaker, but not bad: http://freakonomics.com/podcast/i-pencil/ http://freakonomics.com/podcast/i-pencil/ https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/#comment-355404 https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-t...

by MikeUt 6y ago

dredmorbius 6y ago

Quite. John Quiggan has one of the better responses, and lists others: https://johnquiggin.com/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/ https://johnquiggin.com/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the... Also at Crooked Timber, with extensive comments, some Worstall than others: https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/ https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-t... Nabokov's response (similarly titled "I, Pencil"): https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/#comment-355445 https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-t... "I, Residential Mortgage-backed Security Collaterialized Debt Obligation." https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/#comment-355404 https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-t... The Freakonomics critique is weaker, but not bad: http://freakonomics.com/podcast/i-pencil/ http://freakonomics.com/podcast/i-pencil/ https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-the-mixed-economy/#comment-355404 https://crookedtimber.org/2011/04/16/i-pencil-a-product-of-t...