[P2P-F] Ordoliberalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wed Dec 7 09:11:33 CET 2011

On Wednesday, December 07, 2011 01:43:25 AM 10natalie at cox.net wrote:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordoliberalism 		 	   		  

    "Ordoliberal theory holds that the state must create a proper legal 
environment for the economy and maintain a healthy level of competition 
(rather than just "exchange") through measures that adhere to market 
principles."
    "The concern is that, if the state does not take active measures to foster 
competition, firms with monopoly (or oligopoly) power will emerge, which will 
not only subvert the advantages offered by the market economy, but also 
possibly undermine good government, since strong economic power can be 
transformed into political power"

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Requiring competion is a bass-ackwards way to build a humane economy.  This 
solution is like trying to fight fire with fire.  Competition is about the 
capture of scarce resources and the suppression or elimination of those that 
cannot get them.  Rather than perpetuate a system you know leads to bad 
outcomes maybe people should try another system.

The focus should be on sustained *diversity* not on any process of 
elimination.  You want to keep all people involved in the economy, not drive 
the less capable into the dirt.

It seems to me that the concept of competition is often used where it's not 
appropriate.  In free software we have all kinds of graphical desktop 
environments and most people would say they are competing with each other.  In 
this case there is no scarcity as users may use any or all of these interfaces 
and developers are free to mix and match ideas between them.  The dynamic 
between these projects is much more symbiotic than competitive.

To put an end to scarcity we must attend to systems of abundance, not pretend 
that systems of scarcity management (e.g. money and markets) are going to 
trancend themselves.  Ha ha!  There's a slogan for you: "Attend, not pretend!"

-Karl