Craig Haynie writes: "With regard to the words 'effective', 'practical', and 'proper', they all have political and ethical connotations. Politics is derived from ethics, and this is why I use the word 'proper'. The market is an ethical means of engaging in voluntary cooperation with other people. It is based on a premise of individual rights, and political equality. When Congress tries to change the way the market behaves, it can only do so by using force, and this, I believe, is improper . . ."
Well, I see your point, of course. People do have the right to engage in the free exchange of goods. With all seriousness, while that is true, that right is not unlimited, and it cannot apply to all times, places and situations. In a war, for example, it may have to be overridden. This is supposedly a war, and the profits from the sale of oil are being used by the enemy to kill our soldiers and allies, so we cannot have business as usual. There is no such thing as right that is absolute and unlimited. We all have the right to eat, drive cars, and have sex, but not at the same time! In 1893, the railroads had every right to operate however they pleased with whatever equipment they chose, but NOT at the cost of mangling 11,000 workers. There was a conflict of rights, and the rights of the workers trumped those of the owners. Even though markets are ethical and all else being equal they should be unhampered, there are times when they must be overruled, and freedom curtailed to prevent some larger loss of some more important freedom. The lives & wellbeing of American troops at war are FAR more important than voluntary free markets for oil. If we had to ration oil, deny every drop to civilians, and force every civilian to ride the bus or walk, not a single one of us would have any right to complain. Compared to the sacrifices our soldiers are making, the temporary loss of the right to buy, sell, and consume oil ! is trivial. If this war is so unimportant that we cannot even ask our suburban moms to stop driving SUVs for the duration, then it is not a real war at all, and it is obscene to ask any soldier to risk injury or death. - Jed
