It has to do with this line:
"The government can create coalitions of private companies, . . . "Now, it occured to me that when private companies form private coalitions, that's a trust and it has to be busted. Hence, the antitrust laws. It would also be considered anti-competitive, as well. As such, it would attract the attention of the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department, as well as the SEC, the FTC, and who knows what other agencies - including various and sundry Congressional committees, who would consider such a thing an unmitigated evil (which it is not, of course).
But when the government does it, suddenly it is - somehow - not so evil.
Hmmm . . .
Posts
We know where your children go to school....
ReplyDeleteSex outside marriage is the same set of actions as sex inside marriage. The latter has been sanctified by the church, so it is good (or at least acceptable), religionists say.
ReplyDeleteA private trust is selfish. A public trust is sanctified by the motive: the good of others.
These issues always seem to come down to the issue of a moral standard, don't they? The life of independent individuals as the standard vs. God's word, Society, the Environment, or all of the preceding as the standard. That is where the battle will be -- in ethics, not politics.
Burgess - you are correct, of course, and thanks for pointing that out.
ReplyDeleteMy thinking when I was writing the post was focused on the obvious hypocrisy of the government doing the very thing it would condemn when done by private individuals. You identified the moral dimension of the situation.