tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36094163.post4701046735477178959..comments2022-11-23T08:54:20.788-07:00Comments on The Radical Liberal: Brian J. Gladishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08060107207216764612noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36094163.post-82364731217401192202013-04-22T17:17:10.053-07:002013-04-22T17:17:10.053-07:00Jon, that is a perceptive question that certainly ...Jon, that is a perceptive question that certainly demands an answer.<br /><br />I would say that the state is a result of the <i>market</i>, rather than the <i>free market</i>. What I mean is that the market is the web of interactions, voluntary and involuntary, among humans, while the free market is that subset that is voluntary. The state exists because enough people still believe that having a state produces outcomes that serve their self interest, and they have the clout to impose it on the rest of us without our consent. Note that the state does provide "services" that people desire -- primarily security -- although it provides them in a way that tends to be destructive, even if well-intentioned. As someone who taught me a lot once said, "The ideological demand for security is met by a political supply of tyranny."<br /><br />The unqualified market does allow opportunities for learning, although not as much as the free market, and that learning process will, hopefully, bear fruit in the future. We can have some confidence looking at the gradual adoption of new ideas in the course of history, although it remains to be said that there is no guarantee of constant improvement.Brian J. Gladishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08060107207216764612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36094163.post-63204548243985936892013-04-22T07:48:40.945-07:002013-04-22T07:48:40.945-07:00Could the state be viewed as a result of the free ...Could the state be viewed as a result of the free market - albeit imperfection of the free market - where people view a need for a state?Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05518762624199557168noreply@blogger.com