The telecomunications sector was usually an example of a sector that the market could not handle because of high natural barriers of entrace (expensive infrastructure). A lot of "economists" (for lack of a better word to describe them) said that only government could provide telecomunications efficently and respecting the poor (the poor is the preferred excuse of statists, like if they really care). Well, Somalia since it became anarchic developed a telecomunications industry that offers the cheapests rates in all Africa... And we are talking about an industry that supposedly the market could not handle. I bring this example, because it shows your misconceptions on how the market dynamics work. Without a government "to protect" the somalies from the private telecomunications companies, why are they getting the cheapest rates? Have the company owners suddenly become good people? Doubtful. Its just that they have no other option than to lower prices to not be eaten by the competition. If you had a government "to protect you", they would have used it to protect the already stablished companies from the competition and keep prices high, with some good sounding and caring excuse. But that wasnt an option, so they lowered prices. This is how things work in real live, not the wacko theories about government protecting people.
Competition had occurred in telecom oligopolies to a certain extent that it is now ineffective to resist the tidal waves orchestrated by Google. Telcom are now being reduced to bit haulers. http://gigaom.com/mobile/cheap-android-smartphones/It's an example that every agorist on the planet should aspire to, even if the example involve a multinational corporation whom privileges are granted by the state. |
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The bounty's value had grown to 9,535.44 USD assuming that everyone follow through with their obligation.
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Does that mean you will use the article I sent you kiba?
I'll take a look at it this weekend. |
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What about anti-monopoly laws? Is it bad to prevent monopolisation or merely that only a monopoly on the disallowing of monopolies can prevent monopolies from forming?
-MarkM-
Those "anti-trust" law are often used to persecute smaller companies not large trusts. Of course, monopolies often happen because of government regulations. |
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just wondering if that can be inferred from the network? My client shows 106025 blocks, I suppose that is an upper limit (at least of the number of who people who actually own BitCoins?)? My oldest transaction shows 8444 confirmations - so there are that many nodes? But not every user is a node?
106025 is just how many blocks there are in the blockchain. Confirmations is merely how many blocks your transaction had been confirmed by the network. |
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3. I genuinely find it baffling that some of you think a free market can solve long-term problems better than (independent) scientists who have studied the problem deeply. Particularly when the problems associated with a free-market solution are far away (e.g. my Greenland Glacier Ice product, precious metals in Congo, etc).
A good economist would have realized by now that central planners can't beat the market in resource allocation! So you see, an economic expert would excuse himself from the central planning committee or possibly derail it. |
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Are you suggesting that there should be some kind of "governing authority" where disputes can be resolved...?
No. |
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I had to loan my cousin money. Lowering to 90 BTC. Close whenever you would prefer.
I am sure he will ask you for more loans.  |
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Free market has shown that it is perfectly capable of squashing chickens into such a small cage that they can't even turn around.
Fifty years ago, a chicken cost three hours average wages. Today a farmed chicken costs fifteen minutes average wages, and an organic free range chicken costs two hours average wages. The free market provides both choices, and provides them excellently. It's the only rich snotty kid like you and me that can afford healthy food in the first place(Of course, even the poor, in the US at least, now eat like kings). If there's a way to provide healthy food for the poor, it will eventually be explored. Otherwise, industrial farming as it is done right now will continue to be a necessity to sustain the world's population. |
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As for the free market, what would you buy: cheap wood from company A, or expensive wood from company B which calculated future environmental-repair costs into its price? Personally, if I could be sure that B would do that, then I would buy theirs. But I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw their tree trunks. I can just imagine the board meeting - "Dear shareholders, we have $1B in the bank, but we don't want to give it to you 'cos we'll need it to help out those poor farmers in 20 years time." "Dear CEO, we want to buy those cool new holographic phones. The door is over there, GTFO."
It's called suing their ass for violating your property right. Free market has shown that it is perfectly capable of squashing chickens into such a small cage that they can't even turn around. Free market has shown that it is perfectly capable of pumping livestock full of drugs and hormones to make the meat absorb more water, and so sell for more money (sold by weight); so much so that the hormones in the human food supply are causing male fertility leves to drop. Can the forum come up with more examples of the free market's failings? Just in case, I'd like to repeat that I don't have any great faith in government either. I'm just skeptical that the free market would be this wonderful utopia that many people here here seem to think.
Chickens are food. They have no right. If you don't like how chickens are treated, eat free range chickens. |
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I'll be your editor-in-chief for the rival publication to The Bitcoin Times. We're called The Bitcoin Weekly. I will run a strict deadline for both writers and advertisers. We'll be taking articles until Monday next week with publication of our first issue on Wednesday. Advertisers will have until Monday 0:00 UTC to approve a deal. Wednesday 0:00 UTC is the deadline for advertising content submission. If you don't have everything done by Wednesday, you'll have to simply wait for next week. The earning fees are approximately: 25% for editor-in-chief. 5% for proofreader. Writers get 70% of the pie but will be divided based on how many articles they wrote. For example, if you wrote 4 articles out of the total pool of 13 articles, you'll get 31%(rounded from .30769..) of the 70% partitioned for writers. I will be writing articles for the publication as well but my articles don't count since I already get 30% of the pie anyway. Topics we're looking for: 1. Political philosophy 2. Entrepreneurship 3. Interview and review 4. Programming and cryptography 5. Economics 6. Short story/comics Submit an article or an advertising inquiry at hackerkiba@gmail.com. Remember, advertising deals should be done by Sunday. Writers need to have a rough draft by Sunday. If the the issue is late for ANY reason, we will either refund your advertising dollars OR rerun your ads again next week. However failure to submit advertising content deadline by deadline are NOT entitled to ads rerun(no refund because you never paid us). A new issue is publishing between 0:00 UTC and 4:00 UTC Wednesday. When you publish an article with us, it will be under UNLICENSE. Edit history: Edit: change percentage ratio. Edit2: move deadline Edit3: Delay policy. Edit4: Publishing date. Edit5: miscella edits spread over several minutes of saving and editing. Edit6: Edit ratio... Edit7: Make it clear what's we're licensed under. |
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As far as I'm aware, I never said they were.
Any chance you could not try to get me to defend things I haven't said?... and you know, not derail my thread?
Although it appears to have generated precious little interest by its own merits.
Bitcoins are an experiment in alternative currency – a shot at a system that is fairer, because the currency we have right now was designed by the rich, and is controlled by the rich so they can get richer, just by already being rich. That's what you said. |
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Poverty is the default human condition. If there is still land to be fed off and matter to be refined, there is no reason why a man can't find his own way unless he his born without hands, legs that cannot carry or a mind without the ability to reason.
Of course, I am only a child even so I have found employment relatively easily even with this cursed minimum wage. Maybe there is something that I cannot see.
Minimum wage? I'll be happy to earn bitcoin at minimum wage. Anything for bitcoin, really. |
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No. Bitcoin is not controlled by the rich, since it is not controlled by anyone. It's not a matter of good and evil, if you are not rich you don't want to use a currency that is controlled and manipulate by rich people for the benefit of rich people, which fiat is. If you are rich and not part of their clique you also don't.
Not all rich people are part of the "fiat currency" mafia. Even rich people lose money through inflation too(unless they are connected to the banking elite). I am merely arguing against the confusion of rich people with the banking elites. |
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You won't anymore, I am automating the process and it is going to be a blog with ads.(Instead of having to upload and tell when a new issue is out) It is the equivalent of changing from a version based release to a rolling release.
EDIT: it does, you get a 10% share.
Well, good luck. I'll be writing for a rival magazine even if I have to start a magazine to do it. |
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Please, even if it was biweekly it wouldn't be that of a big deal. The problem is that there were only 2 articles for this issue! One of which was a transcript of a podcast. You are still welcomed to write and get paid in BTC for you good writing, it will probably become a blog and go back to the original publishing model of auctioning 10 votes who get to choose what gets published and pay accordingly + a share of ad revenue for all of them.
I don't care about getting advertisement. That was supposed to be Chris' job, but I managed to grab at least one for him. I only want to write, not manage someone's magazine for them. I wrote articles for all your issues up until now, but I don't like how it's being run. |
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I got it from Wolf's Rain.
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Instead of buying an island, buy a seastead.
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