[ExI] Private and government R&D

[Eschatoon Magic]

Of course in a really free market, withdrawing a loan is not coercion.
But when the powers collaborate behind the scenes to protect their
power, the market is not free.

Our economy is more like the typical situation portrayed in mafia
movies: greedy government officers AND organized crime collaborate to
create and mantain a money machine for themselves.

2009/7/2 Max More <max at maxmore.com>:
> Okay, fine, but then you are talking about the kind of situation that I
> specifically mentioned:
>
>> Of course, it's possible that the system making the loans is one that
>> you're being forced into (for instance, it may be a government
>> monopoly, or one where your private choices are restricted through
>> legislation), but that's a separate issue.
>
> You didn't specify such a background in your original comment. So, I have to
> ask: Would you *still* say that it's coercion to withdraw a loan when these
> kinds of problematic conditions do *not* exist? If so, we continue to
> disagree. If not, I think we are mostly in agreement.
>
> Max
>
>
> No, Max, it is not a separate issue. Perhaps not "forced into" loans, but
> certainly "scammed into" loans.
>
> Take the recent real estate bubble: real estate prices have been
> artificially driven to unrealistic values while at the same time citizens
> have been encouraged to spend virtual money without having real money, by a
> _joint_ action of governments and private financial institutions. Then when
> the bubble has exploded, citizens have not been able to afford their
> mortgages anymore, banks have repossessed their homes and sold them at
> bargain prices to their own people, who will now restart the loop. It is a
> big shakeout that happens periodically in our economies, to rob citizens of
> their money and give the money back to their "real owners": government
> officers and financial institutions acting in _complicity_. This is not free
> market, but organized thievery masquerading as free market. Give me a
> healthy free market anytime, but not this farce.
>
> -------------------------------------
> Max More, Ph.D.
> Strategic Philosopher
> Extropy Institute Founder
> www.maxmore.com
> max at maxmore.com
> -------------------------------------
>
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>



-- 
Eschatoon Magic
http://cosmeng.org/index.php/Eschatoon
aka Giulio Prisco
http://cosmeng.org/index.php/Giulio_Prisco