[ExI] Usages of the term libertarianism

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 12:19 PM, Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> I am far from acritically supporting antitrust regulations, if anything
> because my international client tend to have a dominant positions in their
> markets ;-) and because cartels in the style of imperial Germany or
> Meiji-era Japan would if anything make European industries more, not less
> competitive nowadays, but the repertory of "unfair practices" is broader
> than that.

### The point of industry is not to be "competitive", the point is
that it should serve the needs of the society. A cartel increases the
prices of products supplied by its members, decreasing the ability of
citizens to enjoy its products, and sometimes indirectly also
diminishing demand for products of other branches of the economy.

--------------
>
> Think of Microsof, giving browsers away, and delaying the control of the
> operating systems becoming irrelevant for decades. Or of Coca-Cola. with
> "free" dispensers allowing for just one brand of cola.

### I used to be anti-Microsoft (if you dig through the archives
you'll find a lot from me on the subject) but I changed my mind. It's
stupid to communally decide to form a crucial network around a
resource controlled by a single entity but the stupidity is with the
users. As long as users are not perceptive enough to notice the cost
they are paying for submitting to a single controlling authority
(whether it's USG or Microsoft) with relatively high exit costs, they
will keep finding themselves locked-in (or occasionally, locked up).
Using an even bigger single controlling authority to clean up the
small messes isn't any smarter.

BTW, do you feel *oppressed* by Coca-Cola? What's wrong with free
dispensers? Do they actually reduce your choices? Or only give you an
option to give in to one's laziness?

Rafal