tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398380587565056325.post4222201086258619245..comments2023-11-05T07:32:13.339+00:00Comments on Oxford Libertarian Society Blog: Corporations vs. the Free Marketoxlibertarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03486882962781565208noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398380587565056325.post-63204167359304856292008-11-11T22:00:00.000+00:002008-11-11T22:00:00.000+00:00Re a), it strikes me that it's certainly the case ...Re a), it strikes me that it's certainly the case that left-wing conflation of free-markets and corporations is <I>deliberate</I>, even if it isn't deliberately <I>deceptive</I> (<A HREF="http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9384" REL="nofollow">though it often is</A>). Indeed, in your description of Noam Chomsky's arguments against the free market, it is precisely his fear of "unduly empower[ing] the corporate elite" that causes him to oppose free markets, and, later on, you claim that "many critics of corporate power are in the grip of anti-market ideology." Similarly, conservatives have "done all they can to foster precisely this confusion" - the substance of your case against conservatives is the "widespread (though again not universal) tendency for conservatives to cloak corporatist policies in free-market rhetoric." <BR/><BR/>I did inadvertently mischaracterise your position on the latter point, though (the Rothbard quote was in my head). Apologies, as I particularly enjoyed that part of your essay. It should be interesting to see the response essays; my impression from previous Cato Unbound debates is that they're very variable in quality, with a tendency for the contributors to talk past one another.oxlibertarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486882962781565208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398380587565056325.post-17812328000247426712008-11-11T16:15:00.000+00:002008-11-11T16:15:00.000+00:00Thanks for the plug! But I do have to quibble abo...Thanks for the plug! But I do have to quibble about one sentence:<BR/><BR/><I>Long makes the point that it is only by the deliberate conflation of the free market and plutocracy by the ideological enemies of classical liberalism that such a myth persists.</I><BR/><BR/>a) I didn't say it was deliberate.<BR/><BR/>b) I definitely didn't say the conflation is propounded only by classical liberalism's enemies; I argued that classical liberals themselves have had their share in promoting the conflation.<BR/><BR/>-- Roderick T. LongAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com