"Punishment"? Re: Centralization

Justin Schwartz jkschw at hotmail.com
Sat Jul 6 21:42:40 PDT 2002


.
>At 2:56 AM +0000 6/7/02, Justin Schwartz wrote:
>
>>>Why is it so hard to imagine an institutional
>>>structure where producers do market research, and if people don't like
>>>the stuff they stop making it?
>>
>>Because I don't believe that people will act in any particular way without
>>institutional incentives and disincentives to encourage the behavior in
>>question. That's because I am such an individualist. It is complete and
>>irresponsible idealism to suggest that we strive towards organizing a
>>sysatem around no institutional incentives at all.
>
>Now now, quit that. A universal right to economic security does not
>necessitate or even suggest the absence of any institutional incentives.

.. . . .
>
>It really is time for you to acknowledge that money alone, or the threat of
>starvation and homelessness, is far from the only form of "incentive".

One reason I don't like to participate in this debate is that my interlocutors do not engage my views, but persist in debating some imaginary pro-capitalit. I support a universal right to economic security. I oppose a threat of homelessness and starvatuion as a negaive incentive. You would know this if you read what I have said even this exchange. As I explained yesterday to Yoshie, a worker self-managed market socialism woukd have no unemployment that was not frictional. The government would act as the employer of last resort. You stop pretending I'm Ayn Rand, and maybe we can communicate with some point. I'ma socialist, capice? A right-wing, liberal democratic sort of socialist, but a socialist. OK jks.

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