[Moonbase-discuss] Re: Vol 1 #22 - Unfettered free enterprise

[Randall Clague]

On Tue, 14 May 2002 22:18:34 -0400, JonAlexandr@aol.com wrote:

>Randall Clague: << Enron is an example of unleashed free enterprise the =
way cancer is an example of mitosis.  That something can be abused does =
not condemn it. >>
>
>I'm not condemning capitalism (if that's what you really mean), but like=
 any system in a democracy, there should be checks and balances.

Oh.  Enron.  The checks and balances failed miserably.  But that seems
to be the way we run our society, and not just our government:
everyone goes along fat dumb and happy, ignoring the problem, until
there's a disaster.  Then everyone squawks about how about everything
else should have done something about it, isn't it awful, and some new
laws and regulations and procedures get written, and that exact same
disaster doesn't happen again.  So everyone goes along fat dumb and
happy for a while...

I call it the "muddle through" view of history.  There's probably a
fancier name for it - The Triumph of Mediocrity?

-R

--
"You told him about the statue?
I can't believe you told him about the statue."
                     -- William T. Riker