Economics Questions

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

abskebabs — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:01:25 GMT

Caley McKibbin:

Terence Kealey is not a libertarian.

My mistake... serves me right for treating my broad impressions as facts. What is he considered to be may I ask?

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

Nielsio — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:59:55 GMT

tonyfernandez:

I just got this question from someone talking about how we need government for research. The only problem is that I'm not well versed in economic history. Any ideas?

This is my answer:

http://www.vforvoluntary.com/wiki/ScientificResearch

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

AJ — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:50:11 GMT

He's not, but this is an awesome video on this issue.

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

Caley McKibbin — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:02:33 GMT

Terence Kealey is not a libertarian.

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

Sieben — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:08:06 GMT

Government takes up 40% of our GDP. They sure as hell don't account for 40% of all inventions, much less useful ones.

No one ever says: "Imagine life without velcro? So many things wouldn't work"

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

bearing01 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:03:18 GMT

Many statists have convictions that if it weren't for gov't then we wouldn't have interstate highways or railways. They also claim that without NASA and/or the space agency (race to the moon) we wouldn't have things like GPS or other advancements that were "dictated" by gov't planning. You can argue until blue in the face about all the things we have missed out on by not having these minds or capital free to be allocated by the free. They think man kind would never have progressed above a level where people live in small isolated villages living simple lives like savages. They will never see it any other way.

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

abskebabs — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:34:09 GMT

tonyfernandez:

I just got this question from someone talking about how we need government for research.

It's an unfortunately common fallacy that government is "needed" for research. As in other fields, what it tends to do is bid and "crowd out" away resources that would have been allocated by the private sector towards productive uses. Hence you get large allocations and expansions in areas useful for the welfare/warfare state and industrial complex. What is most amazing is that whatever trifles come as consumer benefits from such wasteful projects are used to herald the state and its education system as the great beacon of technological development. Terence Kealey, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham and one of the UK's very few prominet liberatrians has written on this subject. You may be interested in having a look:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sex-Science-Profits-Terence-Kealey/dp/0434008249

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

Wanderer — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:10:11 GMT

Almost all companies do research and development, to make better products. It doesn't matter if it's agriculture, medicine, cars, guns, computers, phones, whatever. Free markets create enormous amounts of RaD. For instance, Nintendo spends (perhaps "spent", I heard this a while ago) more on RaD than the (American) Federal Department of Education.

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

Marko — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:57:46 GMT

What makes for "an industry" is arbitary. If you make kerosine for night lamps, is this petroleum industry, or is it lighting industry, or is it chemical industry?

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

Kakugo — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:15:24 GMT

Fashion industry.

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

you12 — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:21:09 GMT

Cars perhaps?

Re: An industry developed entirely from private financing?

sthomper — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:54:38 GMT

well...the sex (porn, sex toys) industry may be one.

and perhaps beer and wine (vineyards) and spirits...before any nationalization really took hold.

just check the economic activities prior to nation states, that is if you differentiate monarchy or tribalism from the nation state.

An industry developed entirely from private financing?

Tony Fernandez — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:39:16 GMT

I just got this question from someone talking about how we need government for research. The only problem is that I'm not well versed in economic history. Any ideas?