Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> So why are geeks such market-besotted libertarians? Because they're
> poorly socialized loners? What's the reason?
I wonder to what extent this whole thread is based on an error Plato's Socrates identified 2500 years ago -- an error of analysis which Socrates compared to the error of a bad carver who splintered the bone rather than separated the meat at the joint. We are treating "Geeks" as an Aristotelian species, distinguishable from other species or sub-species within the work force. What we need, perhaps, is a category of all those (whether technically petty producers or not) who enjoy some degree
of autonomy in the control of their work. What percentage of tenured university professors are more or less libertarian. We know most economists are as bad as or worse than most 'geeks.' Syndicated newspaper columnists. Owners of mom-and-pop (mostly mom) cleaning services. Franchisees. I really wonder whether it is worth while considering computer programmers as a distinct sector of the work force. There are all sorts of occupations with members who have such freakish ideas as that the difference between Newton and Einstein "changed the world" (which would have surprised einstein). Do we have anything to discuss in this thread?
Carrol