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> I would replace government with people This is... The entire point of a government. Yes, they're flawed, but they're meant to exercise the will of the people

> I would replace government with people This is... The entire point of a government. Yes, they're flawed, but they're meant to exercise the will of the people, especially in terms of regulating entities that have outsized power vs. an individual citizen (corporations, wealthy magnates, etc).

afh1 2y ago
Government has by far and wide the most "outsized power" v. a corporation or wealthy citizen... It does not "exercise the will of the people", it forcefully imposes that of their rulers. https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil215/Nozick.pdf https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil215/Nozick.pdf
osrec 2y ago
Perhaps, but you're missing my point. Governments are out of touch with what people need and even if they're trying to help, they'll get things very wrong (for example, those annoying cookie popups we've all had forced upon us). People know what they want, and will vote with their wallets. As long as options are allowed to exist, you can trust a well informed public to gravitate towards the most optimal solution over time.
- tenacious_tuna 2y ago
  > People know what they want, and will vote with their wallets. Sure, but in this case there's stacked incentives against people being able to vote with their wallets in the first place with ecosystem lock-in. The companies are incentivized to prevent people from being able to easily switch to a competitor, which is exactly why most people don't, and by and large the general populace isn't going to be savvy enough to recognize that's what's happening. Like you said, the way you combat that is having a "well informed" public, but who's going to be responsible for informing the government? That's the entire point of the US FTC, is representing the interests of US consumers and paying attention to related issues. > Governments are out of touch with what people need Yes, governments are going to be slow and conservative w.r.t. what current public opinion is, because organizing large groups and institutions is difficult.

afh1 2y ago

Government has by far and wide the most "outsized power" v. a corporation or wealthy citizen... It does not "exercise the will of the people", it forcefully imposes that of their rulers. https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil215/Nozick.pdf https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil215/Nozick.pdf

osrec 2y ago

Perhaps, but you're missing my point. Governments are out of touch with what people need and even if they're trying to help, they'll get things very wrong (for example, those annoying cookie popups we've all had forced upon us). People know what they want, and will vote with their wallets. As long as options are allowed to exist, you can trust a well informed public to gravitate towards the most optimal solution over time.

tenacious_tuna 2y ago
> People know what they want, and will vote with their wallets. Sure, but in this case there's stacked incentives against people being able to vote with their wallets in the first place with ecosystem lock-in. The companies are incentivized to prevent people from being able to easily switch to a competitor, which is exactly why most people don't, and by and large the general populace isn't going to be savvy enough to recognize that's what's happening. Like you said, the way you combat that is having a "well informed" public, but who's going to be responsible for informing the government? That's the entire point of the US FTC, is representing the interests of US consumers and paying attention to related issues. > Governments are out of touch with what people need Yes, governments are going to be slow and conservative w.r.t. what current public opinion is, because organizing large groups and institutions is difficult.