Re: [ox-en] Free market and the Internet (was: Re: price of software)
- From: johan soderberg <soderbergjohan yahoo.com>
- Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 15:53:09 -0800 (PST)
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Physical things such as food, clothing, housing, etc are all naturally
rivalrous. We need to set up some sort of laws to arbitrate this rivalry.
Yes and no. Not if we consider that 200-300 tons of foodstuff is deliberately destroyed annually in US and about the same quantities in EU, - while a quarter of world population is starving (!!!). Productive recources in society is engaged for the sole purpose of reducing its own overproduction, and this has nothing to do with actuall limitations of resources. It has to do with maintaining a functioning market. Quite true, it is destroyd by goverment decree, but for the purpose of sustaining a market economy (or the simulation of one). Bookchin wrote in 1977 (not about information) "A century ago, scarcity had to be endured; today, it has to be enforced - hence the importance of the state in the present era" Thus, law is not simply there to save us from rivalty, but equally to sustain it. This is explicitly advocated for in neo-classical economics. Swedish economist Radetzki thus campaigns for policies to reduce life conditions for the majority, because: "hungry lions hunt b!
est".
Finally, Stefan, I have to replay to your comment on my comments. I dont think it was your intention, but when reading, it does sound a bit as if I am advocating not learning from others, not to exchange perspectives etc. I believe that in all my writing I have made efforts to cross-reference many different disciplines and school of thoughts. Hegemonic sciences (neo-classical economy) is an exception, in my opinion, because it is not entirely honest in its pursuite for truth, it also seeks to conceal and apologeese the state of things. By no means am I saying it is 100% bogous. Barthes says no myth works as a pure lie but only if it is a distortion of facts, and Radetzkis word points down to the same facts as Bookchins, however he never intended it too. And finally, my divine guru and never-faulting authority in life, learned a lot from deshiffering Smith, Riccardo and the guys, while writing Capital...
/Johan
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