Posted by klausen on July 06, 2003 at 19:50:42:
In Reply to: Re: Microislet JDRF Hybrid Funding posted by Steve on July 06, 2003 at 13:13:04:
But of course capitalism involves private force being exercised with little restraint, or did you really think that, a la Adam Smith, the people working for minimum wage at McBurgers stores really freely negotiated with their employers for those wages? People with nothing to sell but their labor are so easily replaced that they are the passive victims of 'free' exchange, while people who can afford to own the means of production hold barter counters in the exchange system which so few can match that they easily enslave people who cannot afford them. If I don't like the price Eli Lilly is charging for insulin, for example, can I barter with them to get it for a lower price? The whole idea of the free exchange of goods and services is purely theoretical, when in actuality the basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter FORCE less affluent individuals to take any work for any price, and pay any price for what is being sold.