With Lay in the grave, Libertarianism should be, too
Nice to have the taxman, the regulator, the judge, the politician out of your way. Because, you know, politicians are largely clueless about technology.
I cannot dispute the latter charge. Just this week we had key U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) tell us all that the Internet works via "tubes." Last Saturday at Gnomedex, former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards looked quite puzzled when a questioner brought up the term "wiki." And although Edwards was somewhat warmly received, the looks of those in attendance and the mild, polite applause telegraphed,"he's just another clueless-about-tech politician giving a stump speech.
Well we techs know what a wiki is, and for many of us, "tubes" are a 1970s rock band. But in my opinion, that doesn't mean we should reject political and regulatory solutions.
I wrote about this yesterday in my Huffington Post blog. Here's a section:
I believe the best lesson we can all learn fromKen Lay's now ended-life is that unregulated free markets are subject to greed and pillage in the name of the few.
Because the only force that can restrain the worst impulse of free markets is government, you should be prepared to shout down those who would remove government entirely- or almost entirely- from the boardroom.
The energy industry is especially besotted with men (yes, mostly men),who would take America to the poorhouse in order to line their pockets. It is for this reason that the energy industry should be controlled, price caps placed on gasoline, fuel economy standards raised on vehicles, and prohibitions reinforced against drilling in environmentally endangered areas.
But it is not only the energy industry. The telecommunications industry wants to seize the fastest highways of the Internet for their business partners, and place those who lack the funds or connections to play allies with them into the slow lanes.
Industry after industry has its own get-rich-and-stay rich schemes. Banking, real estate, you name it. Some would argue that's the very nature of capitalism.
As one who is not anti-capitalist, but is anti-greed, I will say it again. When you hear this talk about "smaller government," please remember that honest, activist government is the only force strong enough to begin to counter the selfish impulses of the many rogue suits who have survived Ken Lay.
And I believe that some of those rogues work for the broadband duopolists.
I know you Libertarian techies disdain politics. So did the tech firms who have found themselves out-lobbied on Capital Hill. Finally, they are getting wise to the immutable fact that if technologists either treat politics with disdain, or espouse a political agenda that is reflexively anti-regulatory, you are cruisin' for a losin.'