If You Disagree

We're sorry you feel that way

As far as we can see, the "free-market," "small-government" system, which so many cyberfolk long for, does not pay off for most people. It does pretty well by a minority -- that may even include you -- but four out of five people around the world get only longer hours, less security, and stagnant or declining living standards. In other words, this system generates four "losers" for every "winner" -- and four beats one in any street fight.
So we're not really interested in debating the merits of the present system. We want to reach all the people for whom the system doesn't work out, and we're betting that there are enough of them to build a new one.

It's not that we don't think the market has its uses.

The market is an excellent and efficient way to achieve socially-desired goals. It provides a proven feed-back mechanism for running the economy on a day-to-day basis.
We just don't regard the free market as a moral principle. Where it will get us our goal of a sustainable, egalitarian, and participatory society, we are more than willing to let it work. But the community -- speaking not only through the government, but though unions, NGO's, and other groups -- must always have the final say.

And we reject totally the notion that things that come to you by market exchange are more genuinely yours than things that come by political action.

So it's probably a waste of bandwidth to e-mail us to tell us

that the poor are poor because of assorted defects of intellect, character, or culture,
that no government interference with the free market ever works,
that taxation is theft and we are no better than bandits and pirates for trying to redistribute wealth and income,

or any of the other rationalizations -- and that is all they are -- for inequality and privilege.

Nobody on this side is listening.

And remember -- it's real bad netiquette to flame people.

But thanks for dropping by.

-- Kincaid Return to the top of the page

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Who is Kincaid?

Or:

K.E.I.
P.O. Box 8295
Ann Arbor, MI 48107
U.S.A.