From: hallam@ai.mit.edu
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 12:12:22 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: SPL -- Suspicious Persons List
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.3.93.960915183113.1513P-100000@smoke.suba.com>
Message-ID: <9609160104.AA32697@etna.ai.mit.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain




>     Work for the competition, or start your own company. 

Easy enough for you or me who can charge the minimum wage rate
for an hour for a period more like a minute.

The point is that Perry was making an appeal to "fairness" in which
the cause of the unfairness is pretty much immaterial. If you believe
that Digitronics has the right to behave as described then why don't
they have the right to draw up lists of suspicious people. 

We've seen libertopia - its the world of Neuromancer or Bladerunner.
When I described it "Medieval" on a talk show recently, William Gibson 
responded with the term "Reaganite". 

Being opposed to government slavery isn't enough. Coorporate slavery
is just as bad. Unless people are enfranchised ecconmically as
well as politically the political liberties don't matter much. 

I'm quite happy to allow Bill G. the run of the Internet because if
he becomes too powerful and becomes a threat to society itself I 
don't mind the used of government power to break up a monopoly. On
the other hand various people on this list get tied up in knots
trying to have it both ways, to be pro-coorporatism in general
but anti the kind of coorporatism that they don't like. 

I am on an SPL that is run by an organisation called the "Ecconomic
League". It is an organisation run by the UK Conservative party 
which keeps lists of "unsafe" employees. Of course the list is 
available for government repression as well if they choose - except
that few would give it any credibility. 


In November 55 odd percent of the population will vote for 
Clinton who is not an opponent of government. About 35% will
vote for Dole who is even more pro-government having spent
his time in the Sentate getting favours for friends like
Archer-Daniels-Midland. Most of the remainder will vote for 
Dole appart from an insignificant number that will vote for 
the Libertarian and Green candidates. 

If you insist on such a selective interpretation of rights 
you will continue to be ineffective since the Libertarian party
cannot get anywhere under the US electoral system and the
Republican party is at present controlled by the control freaks
of the Christian Coalition.

If on the other hand you ditch the ecconomic rhetoric you can
be very influential on the left because they are looking for ways
to capture traditional republican positions. With the Republicans
proposing seven consitutional ammendments in their platform that
leaves open an opportunity for the Democrats to step in as the
protectors of the constitution. If someone can work out a way 
of squaring the Freeh situation you can basically write the 
platform for Gore's campaign in 2000.


		Phill