Notes towards the Liberal Party
Dec. 12th, 2005 03:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dsrtaoToday's notes for the platform of the new American Liberal Party courtesy of http://www.zompist.com/libertos.html (Or, Why Libertarians Are All Wet):
Basic values of the party:
The rule of law. That means regulations, effective police, and fair courts. As Stephen Holmes said, "There is no rule of law until the Mafia needs lawyers." Neal Stephenson makes the same point in Zodiac: in a liberal society, you can shame companies into obeying the law, because companies don't like bad P.R. You don't have that leverage with mafias.
Consumer trust. That means that abuse and fraud are prosecuted, and you don't have to get things done by paying bribes (a big reason most poor countries stay poor).
Responsive government and business. That means democracy, stockholder and union rights, and a free press. Personally, I think we'll eventually realize that monarchy doesn't work for business, either.
Competition. Monopolies charge higher rates, stifle innovation, abuse dependent companies, and provide lousy service. (The robber barons of the 1800s were explicitly after monopolies, and they wanted them in order to raise profits.)
A wide-based business pyramid-- not just a few multinationals on top. Smaller companies are usually the engine of innovation and city development, and the biggest producers of new jobs.
No barriers to social rising or business innovation (e.g. racism, monopolies, "licensing" whose only purpose is to protect existing business, unavailable loans or courts, an out-of-reach education system, bribes, mafias).
Basic values of the party:
The rule of law. That means regulations, effective police, and fair courts. As Stephen Holmes said, "There is no rule of law until the Mafia needs lawyers." Neal Stephenson makes the same point in Zodiac: in a liberal society, you can shame companies into obeying the law, because companies don't like bad P.R. You don't have that leverage with mafias.
Consumer trust. That means that abuse and fraud are prosecuted, and you don't have to get things done by paying bribes (a big reason most poor countries stay poor).
Responsive government and business. That means democracy, stockholder and union rights, and a free press. Personally, I think we'll eventually realize that monarchy doesn't work for business, either.
Competition. Monopolies charge higher rates, stifle innovation, abuse dependent companies, and provide lousy service. (The robber barons of the 1800s were explicitly after monopolies, and they wanted them in order to raise profits.)
A wide-based business pyramid-- not just a few multinationals on top. Smaller companies are usually the engine of innovation and city development, and the biggest producers of new jobs.
No barriers to social rising or business innovation (e.g. racism, monopolies, "licensing" whose only purpose is to protect existing business, unavailable loans or courts, an out-of-reach education system, bribes, mafias).
(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-13 10:53 pm (UTC)A wide-based business pyramid-- not just a few multinationals on top.
A fair goal, but one that begs a lot of hard questions, for which I've seen relatively few good answers. Not to say it shouldn't be there, but bear in mind that this is a potential quagmire.
So -- how about free trade? Closely related topic that the party clearly needs to grapple with. You'll find that some of the people who agree with certain of the above points have wildly divergent views on this subject. (The anti-monopolists tend to be pro-trade; the anti-multinationals are often against it.)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-14 10:26 pm (UTC)