I can’t seem to understand why people are surprised that when the government tries to force something that the market hasn’t changed on its own, that unintended consequences arise. You cannot legislate a problem away without causing a new problem… and that’s just the best case scenario. Many times, you don’t even fix said problem, and you cause a new one.
We should try a true free market. We’ve never done that before.
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For Every Government Action There Is An Equal And Opposite Reaction : Post Politics: Political News and Views in Tennessee // April 25, 2008 at 3:51 pm
[...] Justin Mundie uses the global food supply crisis as fodder in support of his libertarian critique: I can’t seem to understand why people are surprised that when the government tries to force something that the market hasn’t changed on its own, that unintended consequences arise. You cannot legislate a problem away without causing a new problem… and that’s just the best case scenario. Many times, you don’t even fix said problem, and you cause a new one. [...]
Jerry // April 25, 2008 at 4:40 pm
If we’re gonna start off fresh, we can’t simply drop all our laws and assume it will work. Currently, there are way too many corporations and groups who exert an undue influence on the market.
If we throw off all government, we have to first create a system where everyone is equal and has equal opportunity. Then every citizen can fully participate in a free market. Until we do that, a purely “free” market will only make things worse.
Jonathan // April 25, 2008 at 6:13 pm
It’s not like this was actually a surprise. It was foreseen by many, but it was done anyway as a win-win for the environment and corn lobby despite this inevitable consequence. My employer, a major chemical company not exactly known for being a great corporate citizen, has explicitly avoided (in most cases) using food-related commodities for other uses for this very reason.
Nevertheless, I’m disturbed by the mantra that the answer is to leave the market alone, never touch the market, leave it to its own devices, and take whatever it gives. I know you have a big problem with taxes because it seems like slavery to you. That’s how this feels to me. You can’t limit or check or regulate the market. You must simply lie back and take whatever it gives you. The market is all-powerful. You are merely its slave. It seems to me that ultimately there are the masses of people behind the market and because of the delay between gratification of desire and the (perhaps unforeseen or indirect) consequences, it’s entirely possible that the market could choose to take us somewhere we don’t want to go.
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