[ExI] Belief in Market Efficiency

[Stefano Vaj]

On Sun, Feb 1, 2009 at 9:12 AM, Kevin H <kevin.l.holmes at gmail.com> wrote:

> Good catch.  This is something that a lot of people miss.  One of the main
> characteristics of libertarianism is it's deontological character.  It is
> more concerned about the *process* by which wealth is created, and only
> that process can produce *true* wealth.  Taxation is theft, even if
> through taxation *more* wealth would be created.
>

A lot remains however to be said, even *within* a traditional libertarian
prospective, with regard to the supposedly "market-driven" distribution of
wealth, or more importantly power, in contemporary societies.

Does it really have anything to do with, say, entrepreneurial spirit or
creative efforts or hard work in any Randian sense, or more often than not
with the crushing thereof? I sincerely doubt it.

Take Microsoft or Enron, for instance. Luck, unscrupolousness, conformism,
cheating, legal tricks, inertia, inheritance, connections, snake-oil
salesmanship are the name of the games, and Howard Roark or John Gald would
have hardly performed very well at it. Yet I understand that a few
objectivists came up in arm in defence of Bill Gates during the hottest
period of the US antitrust case against the company.

-- 
Stefano Vaj
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