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[touchfaith]

These idiots were sponsored by the American Heritage Foundation to crash the Global AIDS Conference in Bangkok two weeks ago. Now, we may have conflicting political ideologies, and that's fine. I've no opposition to your masturbatory extolment of free market capitalism's virtues, nor your kitchy promo t-shirts with the word "capitalism"

Comments

I'm not trying to start an argument - I swear

[hoolifan]

They are calling you socialist because you want governments to coerce drug companies into surrendering certain property rights they are granted under the current system (drug patents) and/or obey a price ceiling, in order to distribute benefits to people who cannot obtain them in a free market.

Whether or not it's the humane thing to do, or whether or not the drug companies can afford it, it is socialist.

That said, our intellectual property regulations are completely fucked, and I'm not willing to say that the rights granted to companies by these patents are just or proper.

And oh boy were these protesters idiots. I always thought the left had the monopoly on pointless, self-congratulatory "activism".

Re: I'm not trying to start an argument - I swear

[touchfaith]

Ah. I thought that the definition of "socialist" (the one used to indict any attempt to place a check on free market capitalism) was considered archaic.

Guess I'm a socialist, then.

Re: I'm not trying to start an argument - I swear

[hoolifan]

the one used to indict any attempt to place a check on free market capitalism

In capitalist booster circles, it usually refers to attempts to redistribute wealth using government intervention.

There are other "checks" on free market capitalism that have nothing to do with socialism - such as excessive regulation and corporate welfare (which most of our intellectual property laws basically are.)

Re: I'm not trying to start an argument - I swear

[touchfaith]

Touche, Eric, touche.