Does anyone else here like the Wikipedia?

[Agathon]

I see someone has changed it already. How long before some disgruntled Apolytoner vandalizes the page with anti-Ming comments?

[notyoueither]

... and you get a choice of 4 or 5 or 6 parties for gubmint. Whereas the consumer has hundreds of choices, even if poor, and therefore has an impact.

You argue that the thirsty man is quenched in the desert by the choice of sand dunes to drink from.

[Agathon]

Your choice in a market depends on the product. There are more choices in political party than there are in ready to use consumer operating systems.

Besides, democratic decision making isn't that different from a market in which everyone is given the same amount of money every three years or so (there are complications to do with collective action problems, but it's much like that).

[VetLegion]

Found and added the link for GalCiv. It was under "Galactic Civilizations". Don't know what else to add.

Maybe I'll check the religion part of the encyclopaedia and ... fix some misconceptions

[Imran Siddiqui]

I see someone has changed it already.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.. it was me .

[Agathon]

Good work Comrade Siddiqui.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I wonder when people will get back on topic?

[VetLegion]

Originally posted by Agathon
I see someone has changed it already. How long before some disgruntled Apolytoner vandalizes the page with anti-Ming comments?

[Agathon]

I liked the bit about "lively forums".

[Imran Siddiqui]

I added something in the 'discussion' section about whether refering to the forums as the "most important" part was wise .

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Agathon
That's complete pants. The market requires us to act in unnatural ways. For the greater part of human history people lived in small communities where selfishness was frowned upon because it was a poor survival strategy. The result of this was the moderate altruism that we all display.

Even now people have concerns about things like price gouging and inflated markups (both of which are often required if a market is to function properly) which is a mark of how persistent the old ways of thinking are.

There's nothing natural about capitalism - it is a sophisticated abstract cultural artifact.

If it is unnatural, why is it the way of things unless disrupted by 'revolutionaries' wanting to 'advance history' in the wake of which 'nature' reasserts control?

Your fairy tales about idyllic scenes notwithstanding, people gathering and buying things they liked, ie the 'market', is as old as Jericho.

[Nubclear]

Note: I haven't read the thread much.

To everyone: What happens when the line between corperation and government becomes blurred?

[notyoueither]

You get the USSR or the PRC of old?

[VetLegion]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I added something in the 'discussion' section about whether refering to the forums as the "most important" part was wise .

I've replied. Wiki must remain free from owner's propaganda!

[Agathon]

If it is unnatural, why is it the way of things unless disrupted by 'revolutionaries' wanting to 'advance history' in the wake of which 'nature' reasserts control?

Because some sort of market economy is the easiest solution to the problem of large agglomerations of people. Altruism requires trust to prevent free riding, which wasn't a problem in the small communities which human beings have lived in for most of the species' history because you could easily identify those who weren't pulling their weight. It's easy to identify with a common good when you are related to most of the people in your economy.

Moreover, it's easy to reach decisions about what to do in a small community, but hard for a larger one.