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From: stuart@genrad.UUCP (stuart)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy,net.politics
Subject: Re: libertarianism
Message-ID: <399@genrad.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 7-Oct-84 18:43:37 EDT
Article-I.D.: genrad.399
Posted: Sun Oct  7 18:43:37 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Oct-84 19:31:47 EDT
References: <>
Reply-To: stuart@genrad.UUCP ()
Distribution: net
Organization: GenRad, Bolton, Mass.
Lines: 20
Xref: godot net.philosophy:504 net.politics:2190
Summary: 

>quantities of wealth, backed by the claim that since one's ancestors and/or
>trading partners gave it to one, one therfore "owns" it?  But where did 
>THOSE people get it from (or from whom did they take it?)  And let there be 
>no doubt that LIBERTARIANS ARE QUITE WILLING TO USE PHYSICAL FORCE to 
>protect "their" "property" (translation: to protect the status quo)!
>

What I find quite revealing here is the "where did THOSE people get it from
(or from whom did they take it?)."  This view that wealth is a static 
entity simply found lying around in nature is quite the opposite of 
what really happened( happens).  Wealth is, for the most part, created
by people.  My computer terminal was not just found in the dark side of
the forest waiting to be exploited.  People put it together from items
that other people put together from items ...  .  Of course, the raw materials
were just lying around, but even then, alot of effort probably went into
obtaining and refining them.  It is that EFFORT which the author of the
above passage thinks so very, very little of.  The ameliorating circumstances
which might count in that authors favor, are that such misconceptions are
so widespread that its easy for someone to fall into the trap.