[ExI] Private and government R&D

[BillK]

On 7/23/09, Max More wrote:
>  I do agree that that it's pointless to set up a binary opposition between
> private businesses and government when it comes to abuse. However, I have to
> agree with those who point to the latter as by far the bigger problem. That
> includes business in cahoots with government -- which is what libertarians
> and almost-libertarians oppose. A more interesting question is whether it is
> practically possible to move from the current mixed-economy to a complete
> separation of business and government. When Bill derides libertarianism as
> "fictional", he's being unhelpful if he's simply saying that it's an ideal
> that has never been realized. He has a more useful point if he's saying
> (though without any support) that it's an ideal that *cannot be realized.
>

Both. It has never happened and under present circumstances never will.
You need to speculate about future circumstances, widespread nanotech,
devolved power to the people, everybody becoming wealthy, altered
human natures, etc. before many of the utopian society designs become
remotely feasible.


>  Related to this, Dan says that in a polycentric legal system, costs of
> litigation cannot be redistributed to others. So we should expect minimal
> problems from big companies suing individuals to shut them up. Dan: You
> don't actually show why this would be the case. I'd like to be convinced
> (and I do have quite a bit of familiarity with polycentrism), but I'm not.
>

And everybody being a lawyer is not a utopian society.
Besides, if you have to hire private companies for policing,
doctoring, protection, .... then why not laywer companies?
(With the utopian assumption that everyone can afford to hire these
private companies).


BillK