Any Rand

[barbara100 at jps.net]

Ayn Rand> "A fully free, capitalist system has not yet existed anywhere."

Otto> What was the political & economical system America in 1963? Socialism?

I appreciate your sarcasm, Otto, really I do. And I'm no fan of Ayn Rand
(ever read _Two Girls Fat and Thin_? yeah, well). But I've heard Noam
Chomsky talk about laissez faire being absent from the US brand of
capitalism too.  According to the definition (cited below), it "opposes
governmental involvement in economic affairs beyond the minimum necessary
for the maintenance of  peace and property rights."  We all know the US
government has its hand in the economy way beyond the minimum necessary (not
to mention anything at all about peace).  I don't know how much taxpayer
money has been spent bailing corporations out of debt and bankruptcy, but
it's way too much for it to be considered laissez faire.  We're more about
corporate welfare than we are about laissez faire capitalism.

Main Entry: lais·sez-faire
Pronunciation: "le-"sA-'far, "lA-, -"zA-, -'fer
Function: noun
Etymology: French laissez faire, imperative of laisser faire to let (people)
do (as they choose)
Date: 1825
1 : a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs beyond
the minimum necessary for the maintenance of peace and property rights
2 : a philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate
abstention from direction or interference especially with individual freedom
of choice and action
- laissez-faire adjective

----- Original Message -----
From: "Otto" <ottosell at yahoo.de>
To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2002 3:38 AM
Subject: Re: Any Rand