[MD] Science Wars

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Arlo]
Chest-thumping about the "free market" is merely talk-radio rhetoric.

[Platt adds his favorite soundbite]
"A free market is a Dynamic institution..." yada yada yada.

[Arlo]
Well, since you posit this in "reply" to my points (although it 
answers none), I can only assume you mean it to show that Pirsig does 
advocate a completely unregulated market. So bye-bye copyright laws 
and hello 1-800-Nuke-4-Me. (By the way, the restriction on 
trafficking human slaves is an intellectual restriction on the 
market, I suppose that goes too. Copyright law is the same, an 
intellectual restriction on market activity.)

Again, the sensible dialogue is one how much regulation, where and 
why, with what goal? But keep demonstrating that talk-radio chicanery 
we all expect. Are laws requiring accurate content descriptions 
"prohibitive", or do they provide enough "good" as to outweigh the 
"burden" they place on producers? Minimum wage, if you recall, was a 
response to the injustices of the market as experienced by the great 
many. It was not foist upon the masses by a few "interllectuals", but 
a popular demand by the many who suffered under horrible conditions. 
Workplace Safety regulations.. same thing. Laws prohibiting porn 
shops within a certain radius of elementary schools restrict the 
"free market", but do so appropriately.

The point stands, any "market" is merely a reflection of the cultural 
values of those who participate. This "Dynamic" institution would 
just as happily move six year old sex slaves to wealthy individuals 
as it is in brining my the latest PS3 games; it would just as readily 
set up "Meth-R-Us" next door to your local elementary school as it 
would bring another Red Lobster. It would just as soon sell nuclear 
weapons to hostile dictators as it would bring boxes of books to your 
local bookstore.

But that just underscores Krimel's point. "Dynamic" does not always 
mean "good". Well, from the POV of those dictators, the market's 
provision of nuclear arms may be "good", or from the POV of someone 
wanting a child for a sex-slave or a darkie to do his menial labor. 
But if that's "good", then I think I'd prefer a regulated "evil" 
world where the market is regulated by intellectuals against these things.