Leftist Lawyer<p>One of the greatest failings of the early <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/economic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>economic</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/philosophers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>philosophers</span></a>, was their failure to foresee the impact of de-personalizing <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/markets" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>markets</span></a>. </p><p>Back in Smith's time there was an assumption of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/honesty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>honesty</span></a> on the part of the seller. Markets were small enough that dishonesty would be punished by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/buyers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>buyers</span></a> not buying the dishonest <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sellers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sellers</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/goods" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>goods</span></a>. </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trust" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trust</span></a> is the bedrock of thriving markets. Which is why countries with rigid rules of law and enforcement do better than countries without. You can trust that if you get burned -- there's a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/remedy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>remedy</span></a>.</p><p>But as markets expanded, so did de-personalization. See the "traveling salesman" selling <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SnakeOil" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SnakeOil</span></a> for example. Burn a bunch of people -- then move on to the next set of dupes. </p><p>Add then, the advent of marketing, or as I like to call it, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CapitalistPropaganda" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CapitalistPropaganda</span></a>. In short, the practice of increasing demand by selling lies -- <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BuyerBeware" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BuyerBeware</span></a>. </p><p>Add to that, legal precedent interpreting lies as free speech -- buyer beware. </p><p>Add then, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/monopoly" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>monopoly</span></a> power, and it's impossible not to see where this is headed. </p><p>Today, we have markets of *distrust* because everyone is peddling legal lies. </p><p>Give it a name: <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PredatoryCapitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PredatoryCapitalism</span></a>? <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CrisisCapitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CrisisCapitalism</span></a>? <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Conitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Conitalism</span></a>? </p><p>It's all the logical end result of rewarding those with the most capital to compete without rules governing the sale of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/lies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>lies</span></a>. <br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/uspol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>uspol</span></a></p>