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I happen to agree that market intervention is necessary but immediately poking fun at libertarians is ridiculous. The healthcare in the US is nothing like a "fr

I happen to agree that market intervention is necessary but immediately poking fun at libertarians is ridiculous. The healthcare in the US is nothing like a "free market." It is the worst of all worlds - corrupt intervention that enriches corporations. It is the new age of American crony capitalism.

psychometry 12y ago
Yes, but it's Libertarians like the Koch brothers who have done the most damage to the prospect for improved healthcare in recent years. Also, you can make the argument that free markets over time tend toward cronyism and corporate welfare. That's what happens when there are no checks on the power of corporations and no limits on how money can influence politics.
- icelancer 12y ago
  >Libertarians ... Koch brothers Yeah... not so much. I appreciate their donations to the Cato Institute and other liberty-facing organizations, but they fund crony capitalism and modern conservatism, which is to say they love to privatize gains and socialize costs. That's hardly libertarian. That's, well... American.
danbmil99 12y ago
For the record, I consider myself somewhat of a libertarian. I just find it ridiculous when some self-proclaimed libertarians refuse to see past their rigid ideology on certain issues, of which health care is one of the most obvious. Free markets work great when they work, but they cannot be relied upon to achieve social aims that are inherently collectivized. Hard-core communists are just as silly.
- seehafer 12y ago
  It's more appropriate to say free markets work great when they are allowed to work. Health care isn't allowed to function in a free market due to the moral implications of doing so given our prevailing morality.
  - icelancer 12y ago
    Right. Not only is it not allowed to function. it simply would devolve into a non-free market anyway. Some markets reach their equilibrium point and do not respect "rationality." Behavioral economics is an entire branch of study that is dedicated to analyzing the discrepancies, and one that libertarians should do well to pay attention to rather than quote maxims.
- icelancer 12y ago
  Alright, fair enough. I don't consider myself a libertarian but most others consider me one (which I guess is all that matters). We are in total agreement. It couldn't be more clear that a "free market" solution isn't workable.
- deleted 12y ago
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psychometry 12y ago

Yes, but it's Libertarians like the Koch brothers who have done the most damage to the prospect for improved healthcare in recent years. Also, you can make the argument that free markets over time tend toward cronyism and corporate welfare. That's what happens when there are no checks on the power of corporations and no limits on how money can influence politics.

icelancer 12y ago
>Libertarians ... Koch brothers Yeah... not so much. I appreciate their donations to the Cato Institute and other liberty-facing organizations, but they fund crony capitalism and modern conservatism, which is to say they love to privatize gains and socialize costs. That's hardly libertarian. That's, well... American.

danbmil99 12y ago

For the record, I consider myself somewhat of a libertarian. I just find it ridiculous when some self-proclaimed libertarians refuse to see past their rigid ideology on certain issues, of which health care is one of the most obvious. Free markets work great when they work, but they cannot be relied upon to achieve social aims that are inherently collectivized. Hard-core communists are just as silly.

seehafer 12y ago
It's more appropriate to say free markets work great when they are allowed to work. Health care isn't allowed to function in a free market due to the moral implications of doing so given our prevailing morality.
- icelancer 12y ago
  Right. Not only is it not allowed to function. it simply would devolve into a non-free market anyway. Some markets reach their equilibrium point and do not respect "rationality." Behavioral economics is an entire branch of study that is dedicated to analyzing the discrepancies, and one that libertarians should do well to pay attention to rather than quote maxims.
icelancer 12y ago
Alright, fair enough. I don't consider myself a libertarian but most others consider me one (which I guess is all that matters). We are in total agreement. It couldn't be more clear that a "free market" solution isn't workable.
deleted 12y ago
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