What do you think about the Acton Institute?

[tjones80]

“mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.” Jude 1:2

Please be civil and charitable but with candor.

The problem I see with any Tea Party group is the “sink or swim” philosophy. A single teenage mother doesn’t deserve any welfare, a family of four making $25,000 per year doesn’t deserve health care and the call for “smaller government” means the elimination of Social Security and Medicare.
That is what they mean by smaller government. Ask any one of them about each individual government program and you will see that they want to eliminate them. People that don’t have the means to make it can suffer their fate.
Their political positions don’t sound very Christian to me.

 

[St_Francis]

Considering the fact that transnational corporations exist precisely because of state-capitalist collaboration, they’d condemn them right alongside every other morally consistent free-marketeer.

I don’t think this is necessarily true, that transnational corporations would not exist on such a scale were it not for government intervention in their favor. Maybe you could provide evidence or at least explanation that the form of free market you advocate would prevent this.

 

[MarcusAndreas]

Let’s take the oil giants. In addition to relying on government managed trade, they require military intervention to guarantee their access to mineral reserves. Look at what happened to Mohammed Mossadegh.

 

[St_Francis]

Let’s take the oil giants. In addition to relying on government managed trade, they require military intervention to guarantee their access to mineral reserves. Look at what happened to Mohammed Mossadegh.

My question is how would the style of free marketry advocated by the Acton Institute prevent corporations from growing into transnational corporations? Is there or would there be an objection to a mechanism to prevent this?

Does AI have a problem with transnational corporations?

 

[markomalley]

Let’s take the oil giants. In addition to relying on government managed trade, they require military intervention to guarantee their access to mineral reserves. Look at what happened to Mohammed Mossadegh.

The way it could be done legally is through a letter of marque. In that way, a commercial entity would be financially responsible for protecting its goods on the high seas, rather than the national navy.

 

[MarcusAndreas]

My question is how would the style of free marketry advocated by the Acton Institute prevent corporations from growing into transnational corporations? Is there or would there be an objection to a mechanism to prevent this?

Market forces are the mechanism to prevent this. I don’t think you get that running a business, especially a large business is very complicated, and extremely large businesses just cannot survive for long without cheating. The law would forbid the use of governmental intervention in the economy. It’s that simple.

 

[St_Francis]

Market forces are the mechanism to prevent this. I don’t think you get that running a business, especially a large business is very complicated,

I do understand that running a business is complicated. I also understand that quite a bit of the complication is due to government activity and requirements.

However, despite these difficulties, it seems that there are quite a number of people running very large, transnational corporations, even with the added complications of government activity and requirements.

So, no, I do not see how the complexity of a large business under the Acton Institute ideas would be such that the size of a corporation would be self-limiting.

and extremely large businesses just cannot survive for long without cheating.

Cheating how?

The law would forbid the use of governmental intervention in the economy. It’s that simple.

I thought you advocated something about “wise lawmaking” wrt business?

And how do the folks at Acton feel about transnational corporations?

 

[MarcusAndreas]

I do understand that running a business is complicated. I also understand that quite a bit of the complication is due to government activity and requirements.

That’s a problem for small proprietors, not the corporations propped up by the regulations.

So, no, I do not see how the complexity of a large business under the Acton Institute ideas would be such that the size of a corporation would be self-limiting.

“a large business under the Acton Institute ideas”

This phrase is meaningless.

Cheating how?

Lobbying for state protection.

I thought you advocated something about “wise lawmaking” wrt business?

I don’t even know what you’re saying, so probably not.

And how do the folks at Acton feel about transnational corporations?

I don’t care what they think. They’re a diverse bunch but some of them have a neoliberal streak so those guys are probably just fine with them. That doesn’t change the fact that the policies they advocate would work against neoliberal corporations. It’s not a dogmatic society.

 

[St_Francis]

That’s a problem for small proprietors, not the corporations propped up by the regulations.

“a large business under the Acton Institute ideas”

This phrase is meaningless.

Lobbying for state protection.

I don’t really see how what you are saying will work, bit that’s ok…

I don’t even know what you’re saying, so probably not.

Sorry about that; it was Abu.

 

[AdvanceAlways]

The Acton Institute has done a wonderful job in explaining how Christian virtues can be directly applied to economics. They have solutions to poverty issues, solutions that make sense, not just throwing government money at the impoverished and expecting to lift people out of poverty.