tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105242361638428746.post8706579306543976481..comments2023-03-24T21:49:49.118-04:00Comments on Dubious Prospects: The inherent illegitimacy of social powerGraydonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374676813519438noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105242361638428746.post-43812148641015890022015-12-31T19:48:58.431-05:002015-12-31T19:48:58.431-05:00I'm not a capitalist; the usual complaint abou...I'm not a capitalist; the usual complaint about capitalism is that it requires people who prefer to lose rather than cheat in order to work, but that's a general issue with social organizations of any kind. The better criticism of capitalism is that market mechanisms don't set accurate prices, and accurate prices would be about the only excuse for the social costs.<br /><br />So if Graydonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374676813519438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105242361638428746.post-31456388434067511212015-12-25T07:12:18.686-05:002015-12-25T07:12:18.686-05:00Fair enough, I guess I rounded you to "nobody...Fair enough, I guess I rounded you to "nobody gets to use force legitimately, ever", which is not what you said.<br /><br />First, I guess I'd note that we're now at "it should be possible to have protection of shared property, which means this situation is not obviously worse", which is a far cry from "this situation is obviously better". Second, I feel it FeepingCreaturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11949875328488880491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105242361638428746.post-19564087691175788502015-12-24T23:42:52.314-05:002015-12-24T23:42:52.314-05:00How'd you get from the illegitimacy of the per...How'd you get from the illegitimacy of the personal exercise of power (or constructing social hierarchies through legitimizing personal exercise of power) to "without the ability to punish defectors"?<br /><br />Police aren't the only way to do it; current police mostly exist to protect concentrations of property. Consider what kind of systemic change we'd get if any policeGraydonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374676813519438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105242361638428746.post-42715903997723530222015-12-24T21:44:56.086-05:002015-12-24T21:44:56.086-05:00Okay, uh, I'd like to know how you expect to r...Okay, uh, I'd like to know how you expect to run a civilization without the ability to punish defectors.<br /><br />Or to put it in simpler terms, how you want me to defend myself against, say, burglars without police. (Police, after all, being a social institution to which we grant the right to exercise violence against others.) If cops can't hurt burglars, or for that matter shoot FeepingCreaturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11949875328488880491noreply@blogger.com