[gameprogrammer] Re: PC game Outsourcing

I think that's an excellent defense of free market capitalism. Everything u
say is true, but problems come when the workings of free-market capitalism
are defeated. One group doing that is governments, and trade barriers is
one way. But another group is large companies, of which M$ is just one
example.

Put 30 widget makers on a Monopoly board, and eventually one will prevail
over the others - either thru mergers, takeovers, or market forces. Then
the sole survivor can keep all other new players out of the market, and
screw over the customer base at will. How a buggy, bloated, user-hostile,
insecure piece of crap like Windows not only survives but dominates, is a
perfect, but far from only, illustration.

M$ is already busy working with lawmakers to get its business plan made
into law - the UCITA legislation. And this isn't to say M$ is any more an
evil tyrant than the 1000 other companies trying to do the same thing.
Profit motive works very well to promote market efficiency, but should be
stopped short of gaining a monopoly or influencing state or federal law.

IMHO, of course ;)

grant


At 11:49 AM 28-04-04 -0700, you wrote:
>This is my first post though I have been a subscriber for over a year.
This whole issue (or rather everyone's comments on it) has me flummoxed.
> 
>How many of you are open source advocates? The strength of open source is
the fact that by default, through competition the best (most efficient
benefitting the most people) solution rises to the top. The important part
of this that most people forget is that it has to be the solution that
benefits the most people. This solution may not be the best in absolute
performance, but it is the best that a significant number of people can
afford. This is the free market at work. Capitalism ensures that sooner or
later the money and the tools of production make it into the hands of the
most competent. I know it seems hard to believe when your boss is an idiot
or you see some punk inherit a fortune but unless the punk is productive
the money will leave him. It isn't immediate and it isn't perfectly
efficient but it is far more efficient than when a government makes the
decisions. Why? Because business operates to make a profit.
> 
>Outsourcing is the same concept on a different scale. Put all the worlds
widget manufacturers together and choose the product from the one that
gives you the best product at a price that most customers can afford. If
that means your neighbor loses his job that is too bad. Why should you
subsidize a subpar product just to keep your neighbor working? That is the
premise the unions have been working on for the last 30 years.
> 
>The world changes. It is our right and our duty to change with it. We
certainly can't expect the rest of the world to bend to us. If I could
change one thing about American education, it would be to teach citizens
their role in a free market economy. You cannot and should not expect
someone else to look after you. Your own well being is your responsibility,
not someone else's. Yet whenever someone proposes a government solution to
their problem, they are abdicating responsibility for themselves and
putting it off on someone else. Likewise, businesses shouldn't be
subsidized to behave one way over another. They must operate under the
constraints of the market and not expect governments to bail them out
because they are unable (or unwilling) to make the tough decisions needed
to survive.
> 
>I should have warned you all not to get me started ; )
> 
>Keith Emery
>
>
>
>

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