6 Comments
User's avatar
Rightful Freedom's avatar

“I doubt that there are many Marxists in the audience, but there are writers in this corner of Substack whose thinking is disturbingly similar in one aspect.”

True. Another aspect is that people who are or claim to be on the right want to blame capitalism and corporations for the current ills. That's a Marxist idea. Capitalism isn't our problem. Our problem is government. Governments, not businesses, are the enemy.

Expand full comment
Fabius Minarchus's avatar

It's kind of hard to have a corporation without government. Where government is weak, family

businesses dominate simply because there is no means to enforce complex contracts.

The very notion of private property requires either government, tradition, or willingness to kill trespassers. Given that we have a mixed society and people living in apartment buildings, we need government or something like it. Maybe the modern libertarian notion of competing protection services could do the trick, but I am not as optimistic that would work as I once was. Could be the declining T levels as one enters old age. Could be from reading Forbes Magazine; articles calling for sector consolidation were routine.

There are aspects of government that are indeed the enemy. Limiting government to what it should be doing is an ongoing effort. There is no final solution.

Expand full comment
Rightful Freedom's avatar

"It's kind of hard to have a corporation without government." Governments created corporations by passing laws.

I see absolutely no reason why courts can't adjudicate complex contracts without the existence of corporations. In fact, very complex contracts exist between entities that aren't corporations.

We may need some kind of government, but the kind we actually have now is the enemy of the people.

Expand full comment
Fabius Minarchus's avatar

A corporation itself is a contract, and a complicated one at that. that was my point. Contracts between individuals are much simpler.

Fun fact: it used to require a legislative act to create a corporation. ALL corporations used to be like GINNIE MAE and FANNIE MAE. When googling around to find information about one of my ancestors, my main hit was in the Congressional Record, where he was making a pitch to create a corporation.

Expand full comment
Rightful Freedom's avatar

That is an amazing fact. News to me. Thanks.

Expand full comment
Jeannie's avatar

Obviously, this country has big problems, but we can choose to make it better or make it worse. Anyone who cowardly submits to pessimism is not helping.

I believe more people are becoming aware of how out of control things are, especially with the latest government over reach involving the death of Peanut the squirrel.

Sure, we know the swat raids where just a subpoena would have been fine, locking up political opposition by over charging, deplatforming, censoring, etc... has set off alarm bells, but Peanut got everyone's attention, even those ensconced in the left wing media bubble.

Expand full comment