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Re: Brashears on Hanson
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Subject: Re: Brashears on Hanson
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From: wfhummel@netcom.com (William F. Hummel)
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Date: Sun, 8 Dec 1996 17:17:16 GMT
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Article: 17100 of alt.sustainable.agriculture
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Xref: newz.oit.unc.edu alt.agriculture.misc:6730 alt.org.earth-first:7254 alt.politics.economics:94990 alt.politics.greens:24460 alt.save.the.earth:27205 alt.sustainable.agriculture:17100 sci.agriculture:16974 sci.econ:61628 sci.energy:59883 sci.environment:114268 talk.environment:80477
charliew (charliew@hal-pc.org) wrote:
: In article <32A8AAAB.7FC0@xmission.com>, Jim <msteitz@xmission.com> wrote:
: (BIG CUT)
: >I also believe we have become hipersensitive to our own material wants.
: >When people support extravagant ecnomic growth, even when it requires
: >that our planet face biological meltdown, something is wrong.
: Indeed, something is VERY wrong. In the U.S., there is a continuing drive
: to produce more efficient workers. High efficiency results in more goods
: and services produced per worker. If there is not enough demand to consume
: all of these goods and services, people are fired. Thus, compulsive
: consumerism is built into the free enterprise system.
: Just for a moment, assume that each worker is responsible for consuming his
: own "production". It should be obvious that to keep his job, this worker
: must necessarily find ways to use more resources as he is forced to produce
: more. And don't think that this worker has the choice of slowing down.
: With competition in the marketplace, and many unemployed people waiting to
: take this worker's job, he has no choice other than to work as hard and
: fast as he can.
: I didn't make these rules, but to remain employed, I am more or less forced
: to live by them. Despite this, I prefer free enterprise to other economic
: systems, because there is more freedom of choice and individual
: accountability.
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The only other economic systems being "unfree enterprise", of which there
are today none. Even Communist Cuba has some free enterprise. "Free
enterprise" comes in all shades. But they all have some degree of
government control. Fortunately so, because none of us would enjoy living
in a system of unrestricted free enterprise. So what do YOU mean by
free enterprise?
William F. Hummel
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