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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: hmaly who wrote (138445)	8/1/2001 5:23:24 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 1584037

First, I assume you are not talking about racial quotas, etc. but rather fair trade laws etc. Many of these laws are designed to give equal opportunity to the small fry. I am talking about both, and any other government control in this area. In your tenets, you said all should have equal opportunity, but when the gov. enacts such laws, you say they are restricting capitalism. Both socialism and capitalism need more than the honor system to keep things fair. You make a decent argument that such laws keep things fair. My point however was not that these laws make things unfair but rather that they make things less capitalist just like the official discrimination against women and blacks and other groups in the past made things less capitalist (and at least in those cases less fair). I think I might agree with you about atleast the better crafted equal opportunity laws making things more fair, but I tend to view freedom as a more important value then fairness or equality. I rent out a room. Suppose my tenant left and I had to get a new one. Suppose also that I was a racist and decided I would not rent it out to any black person. Suppose further more that I was stupid enough to admit this either directly to some black person that might want to rent the room or in public. In this hypothetical case I feel that I should not be subject to legal sanction. I think that such discrimination is wrong but we should not use government force to try and prevent every wrong. I have no problem with people protesting against racist actions, or boycotting the racist (in this example it might be that hearing that I am a racist non black people decide they don't want to rent from me), or trying to convince the racist that his beliefs are stupid and wrong. I also have no problem with the law demanding equal opportunity in government positions or in receiving government benefits, but I believe that the government should not interfere with the decisions of private individuals to the extent of outlawing discrimination in who they rent to or hire. Fortunately I am not a racist so the practical effect of equal opportunity laws on my renting my room is nil. I would not decide who I would rent my room to based on skin color but rather by being able to have atleast a polite relationship with that person and that person being able to pay my price for the room. Fortunatly I am not a racist so the practical effect of equal oportunity laws on my renting my room is nil. I would not decide who I would rent my room to based on skin color but rather by being able to have atleast a polite relationship with that person and that person being able to pay my price for the room. Tim