[ExI] Belief in Market Efficiency

[Thomas]

> The believers in efficient 'free markets' as the answer to everything
> seem to be having a hard time of it these days.
>
> BillK

I don't know what BillK intended with the single quotes around 'free  
markets,' but it seems to highlight the fact that they haven't yet  
existed in reality.

As long as we have taxes (or any other form of coercion in the  
market) then believers in freedom will probably have a hard time.

I don't think belief in a free market or in the golden rule (a  
similar concept) implies that someone has fanatical tendencies, as  
you seem to imply.  Comparing the free market to conscious breathing  
we see two simple, direct methods which don't answer everything or  
solve every problem, but they offer huge benefit and improvement with  
minimum effort.

The human "herd" has yet to evolve out of (albeit somewhat  
sublimated) animal violence.  I would set that as the primary goal of  
the extropian impulse.  I think we have auto evolution within our  
scope now.  You don't have to believe in "free will" to see that  
force and fraud, not freedom, got us into this mess.   -- Thomas