Capitalists Who Fear Change

bill_mcgonigle writes "In his essay 'Capitalists Who Fear Change,' author Jeffrey Tucker takes on 'wimps who don't want to improve.' From DMCA take-downs on 3D printing files to the constant refrain that every new form of music recording will 'kill music,' Mr. Tucker observes, 'Through our long history of improvement, every upgrade and every shift from old to new inspired panic. The biggest panic typically comes from the producers themselves who resent the way the market process destabilizes their business model.' He analyzes how the markets move the march of technology ever forward. He takes on patents, copyrights, tariffs, and protectionism of entrenched interests in general, with guarded optimism: 'The promise of the future is nothing short of spectacular — provided that those who lack the imagination to see the potential here don't get their way.'"

Comments

Re:There is a fundamental error

[Anonymous Coward]

fearing change is contrary to the genuine intent of capitalism. So it is in error to say capitalist are fearful of change. But control freaks... that's different.

The title clearly says "Capitalists WHO fear change", not "Capitalists fear change".
Learn the difference.

Re:There is a fundamental error

[Internetuser1248]

This is a 'lies to children' explanation of capitalism. A more accurate definition is the ownership of capital, especially the means of production, by private interests.

Re:Logical fallacy

[Geoffrey.landis]

No, actually, it's the "no true scotsman" fallacy:

Assertion: No capitalist would fear change.

Counterexample: But these [examples listed] capitalists fear change.

Rebuttal: those are no true capitalists!

Re:Logical fallacy

[SteveFoerster]

This is true. Too many people on all sides of the ideological map don't understand there's a gigantic difference between capitalism and corporatism. In one, you actually have free markets, and inefficient businesses actually lose money and go under. But in the corporatist system we have, executives of giant corporations (which rely on limited liability that couldn't even exist in a real free market) cozy up to policy makers for mutual advantage. They're as different from each other as either is from socialism.