Raymond, as with any slogan, "free markets" is susceptible to lack of thinking. "Don't let a slogan do your thinking for you," remains my favourite slogan.
Once people have a slogan between their teeth, they are rampantly unstoppable and will do any stupid act in service of the slogan.
I remain all for privatisation, but that doesn't mean by any absurd means. Unfortunately, 'any absurd means' remains the most common method.
I knew at the beginning that my convulsions and convolutions would leave me in a state of fevered ravings unintelligible to innocent bystanders. That's why I stopped. As you could see, the said 'privatisation' was psychically and financially disruptive, wasteful, absurd...oh heck, just string a bunch more words like that alongside....
Free markets are great. But they actually do need to be free and public assets shouldn't be handed on the cheap to some greedy profiteering privateers.
I used to look after fuel specifications, as a relatively minor part of many other jobs I had, for New Zealand. Then the government got into the act and decided fuel regulations should be promulgated. Well, that really gets me going - the Auckland Electricity Consumers Trust is small bananas by comparison.
So, I'll stop right now before I get spittle on the screen.
De-regulation [or better still, no regulation initially], free markets, private ownership, freedom, individualism, capitalism and other such stuff is good. But not as slogans. Those things and patriotism are great refuges for scoundrels, thieves, crooks and bandits.
Being free isn't a sickness. It's exhilarating. It's life. Being a mindless cog in a state wheel is not my idea of fun. "Give me liberty or give me death" ... is what some wackoes say. I leave off the death part. I prefer, "Give me liberty or I'll give you death".
Mqurice |
