Re: The Ayn Rand World

On Sat, Feb 9, 2013 at 11:43 PM, David Deutsch <david.deutsch-LR/[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
> On 9 Feb 2013, at 23:06, a b [email protected]> wrote:
>
> > On Sun, Feb 3, 2013 at 7:46 PM, David Deutsch david.deutsch-LR/[email protected]>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> On 3 Feb 2013, at 14:43, hibbsa [email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >>> In this brave new world why:
> >>>
> >>> - would anyone be willing to fight and die for their country, for a
> >>> few
> >>> hundred bucks a month? Where's the personal advantage right there for
> >>> that person?
> >>>
> >>> - How would democracy work without an ethos of public service? Why
> >>> should some elected official regard his duty as being to serve his
> >>> constituency? Why not just the position to line his own pockets?
> >>>
> >>> - Why not be corrupt in general if it makes more money for a given
> >>> individual in a given position?
> >>
> >> In any world, brave or not, why would anyone ever buy anything if the
> >> result was that they had less money?
> >>
> >> - David Deutsch
> >>
> >
> > I know the simple point you are making, but I'm not sure I know how to
> > unpack it if you feel like helping out :o)
>
> I'm not sure I've made a point yet.
>
> It's just that your question assumes that there's a prima facie case (in a
> 'brave new world', though nothing you said seemed to depend on what world
> your question is set in) for people to be corrupt, etc. I wasn't sure which
> case you meant -- they are all flawed -- so I was trying to find out by
> asking a question that discriminates between them, so I'd know which case to
> try to answer.
>
> Specifically:
>
>
> >> In any world, brave or not, why would anyone ever buy anything if the
> >> result was that they had less money?
>

OK thanks. I'll try with:

Because they wish to spend some of their capital as in 'release' or
'realise' some of their amassed 'potential energy'. Maybe convert it
into food or some other necessity, or a luxury or desire.

That would be my first try for something covering all cases. I am
leaving out  investing/bartering  or other capitalistic concepts like
buying with the expectation of selling on at a profit, because the
result would be unknown...a risk.

You could mean risk, but from my past experience of you, it's better
to assume you mean literally what you say.