orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) (01/10/85)
> Powerful elites control my life VIA a strong government. I almost NEVER have > ANY say in how it does so, because those coalitions of voters which are against > me almost ALWAYS successfully form pluralities. If we reduced the size and > strength of government, AT LEAST it would take some time for a new ruling class > to arise; if, in the meantime, the proper philosophical foundations were > developed and established, we might see an end to ruling classes. > > Larry Cipriani > cbscc!cbsch!lvc AHA! So Libertarianism really uses the old Marxist ideal of the "withering away of the state" to produce a Utopian future. Unfortunately it lacks Marx' insight into the nature of ruling classes in history and their economic basis. Those who control the means of production control society. How is the average person to acquire any control over the means of production? Will it be magically given by the "invisible hand"? That has only been the lot of the lucky few historically. Some become millionaires, most people do not. Powerful elites control your life through more than just the government. Who determines what is presented on TV and in the media? (answer: advertisers who get their money predominately from big corporations) Who decided that this country would be blessed with the automobile instead of mass transit in urban areas? (answer: General Motors which systematically bought up the cable-car companies in the cities during the Thirties-- and then promptly disposed of them) Who decided that JCL would be the most used operating system in the world? Our lives are heavily influenced by more than just government.... I find it humorous to find a Libertarian borrowing one of the least tenable of Marxist propositions--namely the Utopian withering away of the ruling class without ANY redistribution of wealth or control over the means of production. At least Marxists realized that ruling classes are predominantly economic in character. tim sevener whuxl!orb