[ExI] Dumb scheme to pay for resources [WAS Re: Serfdom and libertarian critiques.]

BillK pharos at gmail.com
Sat Mar 5 19:42:01 UTC 2011


On Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 7:24 PM, Richard Loosemore  wrote:
> The logical conclusion of this insane libertarian way to design a society is
> that every aspect of a person's behavior that impinges on other people must
> have "tolls" whenever each person does something that potentially impacts
> someone else.  The reason this must happen is that all the things that
> OTHERWISE were being supplied and managed by the government, as a shared
> resource, must now be PAID FOR INDIVIDUALLY by all the people who try to use
> them.  I am just taking the libertarian scheme that Rafal is suggesting, to
> its logical conclusion.
>
<snip>
>
> And in that case, I was asking HOW this was supposed to happen in (e.g.) the
> case of pedestrian and a car driver, when the pedestrian tries to use the
> road and cause the driver to slow down (thus hogging a shared resource).
>  How does the car driver set up a PRIVATE scheme to send an invoice to the
> pedestrian to force them to pay for taking the pavement for a few seconds?
>
> That was the question I was asking when you replied above.
>
> In the alternate scheme, where there is some entity that manages all the
> toll stuff, this is usually the government in today's age.  How are you
> going to set up comparable entities to manage the bridges, the air, the
> water, the warmth that comes from cities, etc etc etc.?  Which corporation
> are you going to hand the "atmosphere" over to, to have breathing and
> furnace-running and bonfire-burning and firework-buring become billable
> activities, when consumption of air has to be separately charged to each
> individual that uses it?
>
>


I of course agree with the above comments.

But Kelly was also insisting on *anonymous* toll-paying.  i.e. he
didn't like the idea of government or large companies recording his
movements and toll payments.
This is another impossible requirement. Such information is too
valuable to law enforcement people.  When a crime is committed (or
don't they allow crimes in L-topia?) the police, local vigilantes,
whatever, would immediately requisition all toll payments made in the
vicinity.

People already carry tracking devices, called mobile phones or smart
phones, which are increasingly able to make payments by waving at a
cash register. And phone company records are now automatically
requested when an accident or crime occurs.


BillK




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