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What people arguing against accretion of regulations tend to miss is that this accretion (as currently experienced in the US at least) goes hand-in-hand with ac

What people arguing against accretion of regulations tend to miss is that this accretion (as currently experienced in the US at least) goes hand-in-hand with accumulation of capital and consolidation of industries. The large corporations can afford to comply with complex regulations. For them, maintaining complex regulatory regimes (through legalized bribery and regulatory capture) is part of the defensive fortifications that maintain their monopoly/oligopoly positions. As an optimist, I believe we can reform the system (e.g., through antitrust enforcement, which the FTC under Ms. Khan is doing more of than in recent decades), rather than burn it down.

starkd 4y ago
I applaud your optimism, but don't let optimism cloud realism. There's comes a point when war is the only path that can relieve the accumulated stresses.
- deleted 4y ago
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- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > comes a point when war is the only path that can relieve the accumulated stresses This is historically untrue. When complex societies civil war, they tend to fall apart. (Wars of unification being an exception.) Their citizens’ living conditions permanently fell, often for generations, until an outside power subsumed them. This trend looks to be strengthening as time goes on, probably on account of increasing species-wide firepower and mobility. Instead, peaceful (if politically violent) “revolutions” reboot the society from time to time. One could argue the Great Depression was the last such restructuring of the American system.
  - jdkee 4y ago
    "One could argue the Great Depression was the last such restructuring of the American system." A better argument would be the case that American involvement in WWII resulted in a larger restructuring of American lives. Women entering the workforce. The U.S. military fighting racial segregation. The resultant boomer generation and the rise of labor until 1980. Lowered income inequality. The GI bill providing affordable higher-ed to a broad swatch of the populace.
    - pirate787 4y ago
      Also a dramatic reorganization of global trade towards open markets.
jollybean 4y ago
Regulations go hand-in-hand with creating a safe and functioning civilization. Just look at the crypto market and imagine if we all had to use those zany tokens to do things. We couldn't get anything done. That used to exist back in the 1800's. Our financial systems are very stable and far more resilient than we recognize. We take that for granted. When is the last time depositors arbitrarily lost a pile of cash while not investing in risky things? That's a 'new financial innovation' largely enabled by laws and oversight etc. that your great-great grandparents didn't have the luxury of having.

starkd 4y ago

I applaud your optimism, but don't let optimism cloud realism. There's comes a point when war is the only path that can relieve the accumulated stresses.

deleted 4y ago
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JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> comes a point when war is the only path that can relieve the accumulated stresses This is historically untrue. When complex societies civil war, they tend to fall apart. (Wars of unification being an exception.) Their citizens’ living conditions permanently fell, often for generations, until an outside power subsumed them. This trend looks to be strengthening as time goes on, probably on account of increasing species-wide firepower and mobility. Instead, peaceful (if politically violent) “revolutions” reboot the society from time to time. One could argue the Great Depression was the last such restructuring of the American system.
- jdkee 4y ago
  "One could argue the Great Depression was the last such restructuring of the American system." A better argument would be the case that American involvement in WWII resulted in a larger restructuring of American lives. Women entering the workforce. The U.S. military fighting racial segregation. The resultant boomer generation and the rise of labor until 1980. Lowered income inequality. The GI bill providing affordable higher-ed to a broad swatch of the populace.
  - pirate787 4y ago
    Also a dramatic reorganization of global trade towards open markets.

jollybean 4y ago

Regulations go hand-in-hand with creating a safe and functioning civilization. Just look at the crypto market and imagine if we all had to use those zany tokens to do things. We couldn't get anything done. That used to exist back in the 1800's. Our financial systems are very stable and far more resilient than we recognize. We take that for granted. When is the last time depositors arbitrarily lost a pile of cash while not investing in risky things? That's a 'new financial innovation' largely enabled by laws and oversight etc. that your great-great grandparents didn't have the luxury of having.