The myth about Unions and the Free Market; some other updates

Of course, I don't believe in the "free" market for so many reasons it's hard to count. Nor do I believe that any sort of right-wing libertarianism has any actual propensity toward liberty (though I do believe that there are many right-wing libertarians who are sincere, just wholly misguided), as capitalism and liberty are natural enemies of each other, contradictory to each other by definition. However, I found this post from a right-wing libertarian blog entitled "Liberty for All" to be very interesting. It discusses an issue I have always wondered about (to an extent), about why so-called free marketeers  believe that unions are a scourge to the market and should not be allowed to participate; that workers should never be allowed to assemble, use their power in numbers (the only power they have) to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, safety conditions, and generally higher standards of living and working. What principle of right-wing libertarianism does this concept go against? Isn't liberty supposed to be first and foremost (in theory) to these people? How, then, is it unacceptable for workers to freely associate and organize?

I only wonder about this issue to an extent, because, well, my impression is that right-wing libertarianism in practice is just hardcore capitalism, which means it is inevitably supportive of corporatism, and thus really has nothing to do with liberty. But in the realm of philosophy and theory, there is a contradiction, which the post at "Liberty for All" addresses. The right wing should have nothing against unionism, as they should theoretically be "Part of the Market," which the blogger elaborates on. Every right-winger who happens to stumble upon my page should take the time out and read this piece.


"Unions: Part of the Market" - Liberty for All (Blog)




Anyways, I know I haven't updated in a little bit, I've been quite busy and well, the truth is I do have a bunch of half written or nearly complete posts but I just keep going back and adding to them over and over again until I realize that they are either going in a direction I no longer want them to or are overly exhausting to read. I feel that I am in the middle of the realization of lots of things I've never thought about or learned about before and its causing a sort of creative and mental paralysis; in other words, I am reformulating my opinions, not in any spectrum-shifting way (don't worry, I'm not turning into a neocon or anything), but more like a deepening way. It is always exciting when you find something new to consider that has the potential for a huge impact on your own core of beliefs.


In any case, there has been a lot of great news as of recently; The day before yesterday saw some great legislative victories for the sensible majority of this country: Probably the most exciting is that the people of Ohio have repealed Republican Governor Kasich's repressive anti-working people legislation, showing the Republican Party and the right that no, it's not OK, we don't support your efforts to destroy our labor rights and to destroy the livelihoods on many hardworking people. This repeal has many implications for the future and it indeed sends a very clear message to Republicans and Conservatives and the whole country: The leftist majority of this country will no longer tolerate this nonsense.


Also sending a signal to the right and very exciting, as well, is the rejection of the anti-choice, anti-contraceptive, anti-religious freedom proposition by the good people of Mississippi. This is certainly a cultural victory and a step toward the right direction, particularly for the South, which, the day before yesterday, showed that it's not made up of just a bunch of intolerant religious zealots. It's also shown that neither is it just made up of xenophobic bigots, as Arizonians recalled and replaced the state legislator who was the self-proclaimed father of the infamously draconian anti-immigration law in the state. Moving over to the west coast, the forces of racial tolerance have also helped to elected San Francisco's first Chinese-American Mayor.

And, of course, up in the Midwest, in my own state of Michigan, we had a successful vote to put Grand Blanc's Republican State Representative Paul Scott's seat in jeopardy, as, by a narrow margin, the voters approved a recall election.

And last, but certainly not least, the reign of Silvio Berlusconi is done for. The people of Italy are now finally free of this corrupt neo-fascist pervert. It was a hard fought battle for them but the fruits of their struggle have finally ripened. 

Lots of good news. World, pat yourself on the back. And then get back to work and fix up the mess you've made in Turkey; two consecutive earthquakes, in the same poor town, less than a month apart? We must always show our solidarity to those who are struggling around the world. Keep the people of Turkey in your hearts.