centralized market control vs free markets

Greyparrot: Society's restrictions don't necessarily amount to slavery, but the specific argument you're making can be used to support slavery ie I support slavery because slaves are inferior. That you're not using it to support slavery just proves that you don't believe it can be extended to that specific scenario. Much of the earlier literature on equality stemmed from a desire for natural justice in such dealings.

I don't believe the concept of exceptionalism makes any sense. You're judging people against an arbitrary construct - for what end? The notion that we can be exceptional is inherently disempowering and means our achievements are totally worthless. This is one of the big reasons why I've spoken out against meritocracy and other such institutions that seek to silence those whom the powerful disapprove of. If anything, the fact that people don't conform to the mold of equality makes them unexceptional in my view, because difference is awesome and worth celebrating. Why we value some kinds of difference and leave other people to beg for scraps on entirely arbitrary bases (ie disability, racism, age etc) is a kind of exceptionalism that amounts to nothing more than bullying and discrimination as far as I can tell. If that's the sort of society you want to live in, that's cool. Just beware of becoming a remarkable rocket.

admin: It's impossible for slavery to exist in a society where one can choose to not work and still be provided with basic life support to continue making that choice to not work. That society is in no way jeopardized with the existence of wealth inequality. Your slavery argument has absolutely no basis in fact. Society restricts people in all manner of ways, but that's not slavery. Enforced equality is not slavery either, but it does deny exceptional people the motive and means to be exceptional. Exceptional people should not be branded as pariahs for not conforming to the mold of equality and egalitarianism. There's no profit to society in that.

Greyparrot: Accidental double post?