RE: Friam Digest, Vol 9, Issue 3

[Mike Oliker]

THE FREE MARKET

I've been thinking about what Julie Rehmeyer and Gary "economic curmudgeon"
Schiltz have said.  I'm reading Thomas Sowell's "A Conflict of Visions"
which does a surprisingly even handed comparison of what he calls the
Constrained Vision (e.g. Adam Smith) and the Unconstrained Vision (e.g.
William Godwin, Rousseau).  The point of interest to Complexity Science is
that where the Unconstrained vision recommends the direct application of
human intellect to achieve the most desireable outcome -- the most advanced
thinkers and evolved personalities are given control enough to create an
optimum world, the unconstrained vision anticipates that the widely
distributed systemic intelligence in systems like the market or interest
group politics will be the most effective, and superior to even the most
brilliant group of leaders.  Adam Smith absolutely thought poorly of
businessmen, he just wasn't counting on their virtues or the virtues of
politicians to make things work well.  I think that systemic intelligence,
the swarm intelligence of human beings, is the interesting element that the
constrained vision offers.  The challenge for people concerned about the
future is to understand these processes well enough that we can improve
them, without losing the considerable virtues of these complex adaptive
systems.

The political and the economic systems interact, and both are run by people
with all the weaknesses and frailties that people could possess, often in
abundance.  The case of antitrust law is an interesting one.  Peter Drucker
pointed out years ago that successful antitrust suits are brought only when
a company has lost its monopoly and is in a decline, and often has the
effect of revitalizing it.  AT&T wasn't broken up when it was a true
monopoly, but only when Sprint and MCI were big enough to challenge it.  IBM
got into computers when its faltering monopoly in punched card machines was
broken up.  It may actually be a useful system, but not at all they way one
would expect.

There is a lot in politics and the market which isn't what it seems.  It is
useful to shed light on the real dynamics of the systems all around us, and
allow us to have a beneficial impact in practice.

-Mike Oliker


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Today's Topics:

   1. Free market (Julie Rehmeyer)
   2. A  resume to remember.doc (Dr. Richard C. Cassin)


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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2004 17:02:05 -0700
From: Julie Rehmeyer <[hidden email]>
Subject: [FRIAM] Free market
To: [hidden email]
Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Actually, one of the best places to go for a criticism of the straight
free-market model is, oddly enough, Adam Smith.  It's so funny, because
he's the beloved child of the free market advocates, but if you actually
read him, that's not what he says.  His message is something along the
lines of "Capitalism is great, except for the capitalists."  He recognizes
that the motivations of capitalists are often in opposition to the common
good, and that the only solution is regulation of some kind.

Julie




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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 17:15:36 -0700
From: "Dr. Richard C. Cassin" <[hidden email]>
Subject: [FRIAM] A  resume to remember.doc
To: " Cass?n's Friends & Colleagues " <[hidden email]>
Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

RESUME
GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20520
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
Law Enforcement:
*         I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under
the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's
license suspended for 30 days.
*         My Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not available.
 Military:
*         I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to
take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the
Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.
Education:
*         I graduated from Yale University with a low C average. I was a
cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:
*         I ran for U.S. Congress and lost.
*         I began my career in the oil business in Midland, Texas in 1975. I
bought an oil company, but couldn't
*         find any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I
sold all my stock.
*         I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that
took land using taxpayer money.
*         With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry
(including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS
*         I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies,
making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure, Houston
replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.


*         I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of
billions in borrowed money.
*         I set the record for the most executions by any governor in
American history.
*         With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida, and my
father's appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President after losing
by over 500,000 votes. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:
*         I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a
criminal record.
*         I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of *over
one billion dollars per week*.
*         I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S.
Treasury.
*         I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S.
history.
*         I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in
any 12-month period.
*         I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month
period.
*         I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of
the U.S. stock market.
*         In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their
jobs and that trend continues every month.
*         I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any
administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice,
has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.
*         I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S.
President.
*         I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the
most corporate campaign donations.
*         One of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest
corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History, Enron.
*         My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys
to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election
decision.
*         I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against
investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating
the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the
biggest corporate rip-offs in history.
*         I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and
refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was
revealed.
*         I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.
*         I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be
awarded government contracts.


*         I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any
President in U.S. history.
*         I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest
bureaucracy in the history of the United States government.
*         I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S.
history.
*         I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United
Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
*         I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
*         I refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. "prisoners of war"
detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
*         I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations
election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election).
*         I set the record for the fewest numbers of press conferences of
any President since the advent of television.
*         I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any
one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August, I presided
over the worst security failure in U.S. history.
*         I garnered the most sympathy for the U.S. after the World Trade
Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated
country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.
*         I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to
simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering
the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.
*         I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked,
pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did
so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens,
and the world community.
*         I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut
in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families -- in wartime.
*         In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for
attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.
*         I am the first President in history to have a majority of
Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and
security.
*         I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster,"
a WMD..
*         I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden
to justice.


*         During the Iraq War and Occupation thousands of American troops
were injured and killed. I did not have the time to attend any of the
funerals for our fallen soldiers but I did have the time to attend more than
43 fund-raising events of the Republican party. RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
*         All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my
father's library, sealed and unavailable for public view.
*         All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my
bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
*         All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President,
attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and
unavailable for public review. PLEASE CONSIDER MY EXPERIENCE WHEN VOTING IN
2004.

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End of Friam Digest, Vol 9, Issue 3
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