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Re: Capitalism and XML

• To: matthew.gertner@s... (Matthew Gertner)
• Subject: Re: Capitalism and XML
• From: John Cowan <jcowan@r...>
• Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 12:14:59 -0500 (EST)
• Cc: arg@u... ('arg@u...'), xml-dev@l...
• In-reply-to: <DC1124C4368AA9438D9DEC34ECB6F162013EB7CD@o...> from "Matthew Gertner" at Mar 27, 2002 03:59:12 PM

Matthew Gertner scripsit:

> The good news is that the
> combination of democracy and capitalism demonstrably works, we've solved a
> lot of the problems inherent in naive approaches to capitalism and continue
> to do so. 

It "works" for a small minority of the world's population.  The rest are
in the same grinding poverty *or worse* that they've ever been in.

> (http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1045223 -- like
> a good reactionary I read reactionary rags) that points out that purely
> selfish behavior based on this principle can lead to altruistic behavior on
> the macro level. Good news for everyone, I say.

Yes, indeed, and very interesting.

> The bottom line is that we have made more political and economic progress in
> the past century than in the millenium that preceded it, and this has led to
> massively less disease and poverty for maybe a quarter of the world's
> population. The only way to spread this benefit to the neglected three
> quarters is to continue on the path of capitalism, democracy and free trade.

Well and good -- *if* we had those things.  The Blessings-Of-Civilization
Trust, as Mark Twain called it, is more in the habit of spreading
massive inequality, authoritarian rule, and "protectionism at home, free
trade abroad" -- the qualities of large corporations.

-- 
John Cowan <jcowan@r...>     http://www.reutershealth.com
I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen,    http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
han mathon ne chae, a han noston ne 'wilith.  --Galadriel, _LOTR:FOTR_

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