From: "Perry E. Metzger" <pmetzger@lehman.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 18:58:39 PDT
To: bill@twwells.com (T. William Wells)
Subject: Re: Net Regulation
In-Reply-To: <CFF1Is.BzJ@twwells.com>
Message-ID: <9310250152.AA09786@snark.lehman.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



T. William Wells says:
> :                                                                       It
> : is enormously difficult to control workers who can live anywhere on earth
> : and work anywhere else.
> 
> Really? I'll tell you what: I'll give you 100% control over all
> communications starting tomorrow and I'll take 100% control over
> all food and water at the same time. I win. You *die*.

How will you take control? If Napoleon and Hitler couldn't manage it,
I doubt any of the mediocre dictators we have around these days could.

You can't forget that that the state can't violate the laws of physics
or economics. They can't extract more resources out of a country than
that country has, and they can't be everywhere at once.

Admittedly, if someone could put a *loyal* armed soldier over
everyone's shoulder on earth they could control everyone. How, though,
could they manage to do this?

> Simplistic and impossible, true, but the point remains. There is
> always a physical reality and no matter who "insignificant" it
> is, it can still kill you.

I think you are the one who is ignoring this. The state is just as
subject to the problems of physical reality as anyone else.

Perry