Quote from: Zythyra on August 25, 2008, 03:46:20 PM
Quote from: Nephie on August 25, 2008, 03:32:20 PM
What if they held an election and nobody came?
Then we'd likely get a continuation of the corporate regime that we've had.
Z
I strongly disagree. American corporations wield the power they do because the American public eagerly votes for politicians who wholeheartedly believe in state-corporatism - the more collectivist and regulated, the better. After all, how often do you see big business getting together to actually, seriously challenge the idea of state regulation? No, mega-corps
love regulation; they can't exist without it. It's their sword and shield for combating smaller competitors - actual free-market
businesses - as well as each other.
Look at the Microsoft anti-trust case - a clear example of competitors getting pissed off about someone's unwillingness to play ball. And check out MS's market share after the case - it's much higher than Standard Oil's market share
ever was. These laws aren't about reigning in abusive businesses, or even limiting market share; they're about stifling competition and cartelizing industry.
To me, it looks like Americans are steadily voting into existence a system where ordinary businessmen have no rights at all, and the state-capitalists are warring feudal lords in all but name. Worse, this is being sold to us under the guise of
protecting us from big business.
This state of affairs is sustained by the public's support of the state, most directly in the form of the SEC, FCC, FDA, EPA, and other captured regulatory agencies. Not to mention the Federal Reserve Bank (which is most
definitely an arm of the government). If people just began to disregard the state
en masse, what would it do? Throw everyone into prison? How would that look? Not to mention, who'd pay the salaries of the police, armed forces, IRS agents, and other enforcers? It'd do nothing but collapse the government. Civil disobedience FTW!
