danw@oliven.UUCP (danw) (12/04/84)
[] >Exactly. "private security firms are answerable to their customers". >It seems to me that both Libertarians and their opponents forget some >basic facts of history. In the 19th century the "robber barons" controlling >the oil, mining and other industries had their own private security firms-- >they served their customers very well and massacred hundreds of union >members who were fighting for such radical ideas as: A brief view of the history books of the period will also give, numerous accounts of the national guard, federal troops ,local constabulary etc. being called out to massacre union members. This was NOT a period of history that could be described as Libertarian , OR lassez-faire capitalist. The Republican party evolved into its present form during this era - selling favors to Big Business. The abuses so ablely described above were , as always, the result of the corruption of the governmental process. Only governments can perpetuate monopolies by 'robber barons' on anyone else. To try to lay the failures of that era at the feet of the Libertarians, is intellectual dishonesty of the highest order. danw
orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) (12/08/84)
> [] > > >Exactly. "private security firms are answerable to their customers". > >It seems to me that both Libertarians and their opponents forget some > >basic facts of history. In the 19th century the "robber barons" controlling > >the oil, mining and other industries had their own private security firms-- > >they served their customers very well and massacred hundreds of union > >members who were fighting for such radical ideas as: > > > A brief view of the history books of the period will also give, > numerous accounts of the national guard, federal troops ,local > constabulary etc. being called out to massacre union members. > This was NOT a period of history that could be described as > Libertarian , OR lassez-faire capitalist. The Republican party evolved > into its present form during this era - selling favors to Big Business. > > The abuses so ablely described above were , as always, the > result of the corruption of the governmental process. Only governments > can perpetuate monopolies by 'robber barons' on anyone else. > > To try to lay the failures of that era at the feet of the > Libertarians, is intellectual dishonesty of the highest order. > > danw Oh, come now, how did "government" have anything to do with John D. Rockefeller's control of 99% of the oil industry? He took it over all by himself! This is precisely the problem Libertarians with their belief in the magical "invisible hand" fail to address: how did once free markets come to be dominated by a few firms? Does this not seem to have been a natural outgrowth of the economic system itself? What would prevent Standard Oil from acquiring a monopoly with no government intervention? The fact is they did so. Why has our present economy become more and more dominated by large oligpolies? tim sevener whuxl!orb