At 04:45 PM 10/9/2002 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> From http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/general/intellectual/napster.htm > >>the legal protection of a monopoly > >"monopoly" is a synonym for "property".
I think you're talking about one's personal "monopoly" power over one's own property, and I would agree with you there. But if you're using the word "monopoly" in the wider sense of sole power over an entire market, I must disagree with you. Ayn Rand asserted that monopolies in the latter sense of the word can only be maintained by coercion and therefore cannot arise under laissez-faire capitalism. She meant government coercion primarily, but I would generalize that to include coercion from any powerful gang. So the next time you feel undiluted admiration for a large enterprise, keep in mind that their size may be due in large part to government regulations and subsidies designed to stifle competition. Many of us who are critical and skeptical of big businesses may be tarred for using socialist "code words," when in fact we are critical and skeptical precisely because we are die-hard laissez faire anarcho-capitalists. So screw Starbucks -- buy Capulin! <http://capulin.com/> -- Patrick --- You are currently subscribed to e-gold-list as: archive@jab.org To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Use e-gold's Secure Randomized Keyboard (SRK) when accessing your e-gold account(s) via the web and shopping cart interfaces to help thwart keystroke loggers and common viruses.
