Comments on: The Europeans Punish Success, Again http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/ Our mission is to combat the unreason and selflessness that are sweeping our culture from the nihilist left to the religious right, and to sound a new ideal of capitalism and individual rights in American politics. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:46:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Galileo Blogs http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3079 Galileo Blogs Thu, 14 May 2009 22:41:15 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3079 I want to add a little bit to my sentence that reads: "To steal $1.44 billion from Intel is to demand that these scientists and engineers work for free." Stealing that money also demands that capitalists "work" for free by getting an unchosen lower rate of return on their investment in Intel. That investment consists of equity and debt capital that Intel uses as financing to build its fabrication plants, research centers, and other operations. This $1.44 billion comes out of the return that Intel would pay those investors. Needless to say, those investors will also be less willing to invest in Intel in the future. Arbitrary fines like this mean that Intel and other successful companies will have a reduced supply of capital to fund their activities. I want to add a little bit to my sentence that reads: “To steal $1.44 billion from Intel is to demand that these scientists and engineers work for free.”

Stealing that money also demands that capitalists “work” for free by getting an unchosen lower rate of return on their investment in Intel. That investment consists of equity and debt capital that Intel uses as financing to build its fabrication plants, research centers, and other operations. This $1.44 billion comes out of the return that Intel would pay those investors.

Needless to say, those investors will also be less willing to invest in Intel in the future. Arbitrary fines like this mean that Intel and other successful companies will have a reduced supply of capital to fund their activities.

]]> By: Galileo Blogs http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3078 Galileo Blogs Thu, 14 May 2009 22:30:44 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3078 L-C, You are correct: force versus voluntary agreement is the key issue. Ayn Rand has written about it so well when she explains how capitalism differs from government compulsion. A businessman can only persuade someone to buy a product by offering something valuable that the purchaser wants to buy. A bureaucrat, on the other hand, orders people to do things under threat of force. Confusion over "monopoly" is based on confusion over this issue. A business's large earned market share is not a "monopoly" in the sense that the coercive postal service (here in the U.S.) is, or the way public utilities are. The latter operate under legally-sanctioned exclusive geographical franchises. Those are true monopolies. L-C,
You are correct: force versus voluntary agreement is the key issue. Ayn Rand has written about it so well when she explains how capitalism differs from government compulsion. A businessman can only persuade someone to buy a product by offering something valuable that the purchaser wants to buy. A bureaucrat, on the other hand, orders people to do things under threat of force.

Confusion over “monopoly” is based on confusion over this issue. A business’s large earned market share is not a “monopoly” in the sense that the coercive postal service (here in the U.S.) is, or the way public utilities are. The latter operate under legally-sanctioned exclusive geographical franchises. Those are true monopolies.

]]> By: Galileo Blogs http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3077 Galileo Blogs Thu, 14 May 2009 22:25:02 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3077 Amit, You are so right that it is businessmen who cudgel each other using antitrust. The most absurd example of that recently was Google and Microsoft in separate instances pummeling the other with antitrust. What an example of how antitrust is in no one's self-interest. They only achieve their mutual self-destruction. I called out Google for attacking Microsoft in "This Is Not Capitalism" here: http://galileoblogs.blogspot.com/2008/02/this-is-not-capitalism.html And I called out Microsoft for attacking Google in "Antitrust Smackdown" here: http://galileoblogs.blogspot.com/2007/04/antitrust-smackdown-in-todays-new-york.html Amit,
You are so right that it is businessmen who cudgel each other using antitrust. The most absurd example of that recently was Google and Microsoft in separate instances pummeling the other with antitrust. What an example of how antitrust is in no one’s self-interest. They only achieve their mutual self-destruction. I called out Google for attacking Microsoft in “This Is Not Capitalism” here:

http://galileoblogs.blogspot.com/2008/02/this-is-not-capitalism.html

And I called out Microsoft for attacking Google in “Antitrust Smackdown” here:

http://galileoblogs.blogspot.com/2007/04/antitrust-smackdown-in-todays-new-york.html

]]> By: L-C http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3073 L-C Thu, 14 May 2009 20:04:29 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3073 Nevermind government companies with an actual mandate to use force against its "customers" and competitors. In fact, just today I was harassed about our TV license, a mandatory fee that funds public networks, touted in an Orwellian manner as "free". But in their world, using force to compel people to buy your stuff is moral whereas dealing with them based on mutual respect and interest is not. Nevermind government companies with an actual mandate to use force against its “customers” and competitors.

In fact, just today I was harassed about our TV license, a mandatory fee that funds public networks, touted in an Orwellian manner as “free”.

But in their world, using force to compel people to buy your stuff is moral whereas dealing with them based on mutual respect and interest is not.

]]> By: Amit Ghate http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3046 Amit Ghate Thu, 14 May 2009 01:22:23 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3046 Nice post Galileo! (The sad part of all these stories is that often it's other businesses lobbying for these interventions and fines -- never thinking about the underlying principles involved or their future repercussions.) Nice post Galileo! (The sad part of all these stories is that often it’s other businesses lobbying for these interventions and fines — never thinking about the underlying principles involved or their future repercussions.)

]]> By: Harold http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3045 Harold Thu, 14 May 2009 01:01:16 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3045 <i>"harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years"</i> Notice the package dealing. Apparently there's no difference between *competitive* actions between consenting parties and physical force (or fraud). More on Standard Oil: http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reg_ls_standard “harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years”

Notice the package dealing. Apparently there’s no difference between *competitive* actions between consenting parties and physical force (or fraud).

More on Standard Oil:

http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reg_ls_standard

]]> By: Galileo Blogs http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3031 Galileo Blogs Wed, 13 May 2009 18:04:58 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3031 Thanks, Mike. I removed that erroneous reference from the post. [I had mistakenly said that Intel stands for "intelligence." It does stand for intelligence metaphorically, just not literally.] Thanks, Mike. I removed that erroneous reference from the post. [I had mistakenly said that Intel stands for "intelligence." It does stand for intelligence metaphorically, just not literally.]

]]> By: Mike http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3030 Mike Wed, 13 May 2009 17:51:20 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3030 Just letting you know: INTEL does not stand for "intelligence." It is a shortening of the company's previous name, INTegrated ELectronics. :) The company switched to that from their original founder-based name, Moore Noyce, because the latter sounded like "More Noise" when spoken. Just letting you know: INTEL does not stand for “intelligence.” It is a shortening of the company’s previous name, INTegrated ELectronics. :) The company switched to that from their original founder-based name, Moore Noyce, because the latter sounded like “More Noise” when spoken.

]]> By: Two--Four http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3028 Two--Four Wed, 13 May 2009 17:07:05 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2009/05/the-europeans-punish-success-again/#comment-3028 [...] Union extorts nearly $1.5b from Intel. The New Clarion hits the story so I don't have to. I would only add, to AMD: eat a bag of dicks, creeps. You'll [...] [...] Union extorts nearly $1.5b from Intel. The New Clarion hits the story so I don’t have to. I would only add, to AMD: eat a bag of dicks, creeps. You’ll [...]

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