Fighting over the wheel of government

Kinsella revisits corporations, begs Qs of grant of limited liaibility towards persons involuntarily injured and resulting fight to influence state action

TT`s Lost in Tokyo — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:08:13 GMT

I left the following comment at a recent Mises Blog post by Stephan Kinsella, but the number of links

"Free market" Rob Bradley prefer to mock enviros rather than to make common cause

TT`s Lost in Tokyo — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:26:49 GMT

Robert L. Bradley, Jr. is an energy expert (author, former speechwriter for Key Lay and director of public

re: Fighting ...

hank — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:48:47 GMT

> Corporations ... you can't blame things for

> being what they are. It's when they have a

> tool that allows them to silently hurt people

> that they become dangerous.

I don't blame corporations for being what they are -- the creation of a misread footnote in a court case subsequently turned into immortal limited liability "people" larger than life.

But -- as they are a creation of government -- the suggestion that their behavior will be improved by removing their creator is a clear case of mistaking Dr. Frankenstein for his Monster. It's the monster that's the problem.

Dr. F. just needs serious reeducation.

We made them, we need to restrain our creation.

Rent-seeking: CEI's Chris Horner comes clean and acknowledges that climate denialists and alarmists are peas in the same pod

TT`s Lost in Tokyo — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:47:09 GMT

In an earth-shaking ;) essay in today's Human Events, CEI 's Chris Horner comes clean and acknowledges

re: Fighting over the wheel of government

TokyoTom — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 15:15:42 GMT

Contumacy, those who get the greatest gains from government are not particularly interested in loosening their grip.

Yes, corporations are "voluntary" asociations but think back a bit. Aren`t they creatures of the state? Are their state-given advantages to corporations that partnerships and other busiesses created under common law don`t have? Have those advantages grown? And - apart from competition from upstarts - don`t they have more powerful levers over government than individuals?

re: Fighting over the wheel of government

ContumacySince87 — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:50:33 GMT

I don't really understand what you mean by your last paragraph. Corporations are groups of willing participants. I don't see what is inherently bad about that. When they lobby government to give them special privilages, they are no worse than the poor family begging the government for welfare. Corporations just illuminate the corruption of our system better than anything else. In the end, being an 800 lb gorilla isn't a bad thing in itself; you can't blame things for being what they are. It's when they have a tool that allows them to silently hurt people that they become dangerous.

That tool is a corrupt, powerful government. Take away that tool, take away the threat.

re: Fighting over the wheel of government

TokyoTom — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 03:30:33 GMT

MCLA, I agree completely that the best way to lessen rent-seeking is to reduce the rents that are available through government.

This implies smaller government, but also suggests that we can make progress by focussing on breathing more life into the federalist structure of power-sharing with the states, the checks and balances between the branches of government, by limiting the ability of either political party to get a local lock on power by gerrymandering.

I appreciate the agreement that citizens are not wrong to seek to counterbalance corporations, but you've missed a point. Corporations are the 800 lb. gorilla not because of ongoing corporate welfare - that's simply the effect. Their powerful advantages over citizens comes from their size and financial power, which derives from legislative grants of unlimited life, unlimited purposes and limited liability for their investors. To reduce government, some effort must be made to moderate these advantages.

re: Fighting over the wheel of government

MCLA — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:00:40 GMT

No, citizens are not wrong to seek to counterbalance corporations, but the govt is a poor counterbalance to corporations.

Lets not forget that the 800 lb. gorilla in the room grew to be that big mainly because of the welfare it keeps getting from the Govt. It is the nature of corporations (and individuals) to be rent seeking. But rent seeking is useful only when the govt is powerful enough do any favours. If you weaken the govt, or better still eliminate it, you make rent-seeking unprofitable. That IMHO is a better counter-balance.

Cheers!

MCLA