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From: faustus@ucbcad.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: a question
Message-ID: <2738@ucbcad.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 13-Oct-84 03:31:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbcad.2738
Posted: Sat Oct 13 03:31:45 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Oct-84 07:36:02 EDT
References: <655@oliven.UUCP>
Organization: UC Berkeley CAD Group, Berkeley, CA
Lines: 27

> []
> 			A QUESTION
> 
> 	Is liberty (a) a scarce good or (b) a free good?
> 
> 	To explain: A scarce good is that which exists only in
> a limited degree and is subject to destruction by external
> forces; enlightened constitutional government is one means of
> preserving liberty, which would vanish in the chaos of anarchy.
> 
> 	A free good is something that is always available to
> everyone; therefore, government functions as a barrier between
> us and it; if government were removed, liberty would result.
> 					danw

Ask yourself this: do animals in the wild have liberty? They don't have
many rights (at least ones that are respected by other animals). Then
ask yourself, what is the difference between us and wild animals? (The
answer is, or course, that we have a government.) But seriously, first
we should decide: what is liberty? Being able to do what we want? Being
able to do what we want, as long as it is not preventing people from
doing what they want? Being able to do most of the things we want, the
price of this being not being able to do the rest of them? That goes
a long way towards deciding whether government promotes or hinders
liberty...

	Wayne