Linked by David Adams on Thu 1st Oct 2009 01:39 UTC
As much as we like to stay away from letting real-world politics bleed over into our ongoing discussion of tech politics, I found an interesting essay over at The Economist's "Democracy in America" blog that draws a parallel between Apple's Mac/iPhone user-friendly ecosystem and the Microsoft Windows freer-but-more-chaotic ecosystem and how that lines up along the authoritarian/libertarian spectrum of real-world political division. They don't mention Open Source in this essay, but I'm sure it could make an interesting addition to the discussion. The essay's main point is that, in governance, attempts to make life more user-friendly for citizens usually ends up giving them less freedom of choice, and a certain segment of the political establishment will reliably oppose such moves. The idea that the tradeoff between choice and usability persists into the world of governance really set me to thinking. What kind of country would you rather live in? An Apple one, a Microsoft one, or an Open Source one?
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Member since:
2006-01-10
Freedom > Central Planning > Managed Freedom
I really dislike using American health insurance as an example of freedom. It is not.
1. Doctors hold a monopoly over practicing medicine. Perhaps valid for quality reasons, but this is not freedom.
2. There a million and one regulation mandating certain types of insurance, and drug companies...
3. There's price controls. Medicare pays a fixed amount. No doctor is going to offer a cheaper price than medicare.
...
So how can you claim it is free? Or an example of liberty?
It is as I call it, managed freedom.
I will agree to this statement
central planning is better than managed freedom.
The Canadian health system is better than the American health system
However, neither is as good as a free society. Singapore while not free is freer than both and offers some of the best healthcare in the world.
Windows is simply managed freedom.
Edited 2009-10-01 02:41 UTC