Oddbean

I agreed with this post as a general assessment of the landscape but I'm with BTC Minstrel—im not of the mind that free market capitalism is completely gone. It has the habit of adapting and reasserting itself. Most issues are not evenly destributed. There are degrees of cronyism (or 'crapitalism') and socialism in different places.

Yeah obviously it’s a spectrum but I have a very crude observation that it’s pervasive enough to significantly disrupt capitalistic economies to the point where multiple large industries are corrupted.

Yes I agree. I think this is largely the result of fiat. but not solely due to fiat as it began in earnest, at least in America, when we were still on the gold standard with the post-Reconstruction monopolies (Rockefeller, et al.). But I also consider Socialism as a religion more than an economic paradigm, and so its encroachment is first spiritual. Free-market capitalism arose within a Christianised world. Once that world, as a result, became highly industrialized we saw the rise of competing spiritual frameworks like Socialism. The latter only makes sense in a world in which the economic epicenter of society is no longer the household but factories. Ultimately fixing the money is important. Legal battles like this fluoride one are important. But free-market capitalism will only really return once we return as a people to the moral and spiritual roots it was born out of.

I honestly don’t know who’s pushing this or why. Fluoride is already in the water systems so I can only assume this product exists because there’s demand for fluoridated water. Presumably because some consumers have been convinced that it’s healthy or protective in some way. And capitalism (of which I am a huge fan btw) or free markets more accurately will find and address most any market demand if there’s profit in it.

Yes, a good assessment. I did not intend on coming across as very snarky before, by the way. I believe you are right about people being convinced and *demand* being met. I recall a story from last year about a local municipal worker in some midsized town quietely keeping fluoride levels in the town's water supply to a very low level. He did this for something like a decade before it was discovered. Super based, but there were locals who got very upset about it. My commentary was a little less about the motives of those who push high fluoridation and more about the broader context. This issue only arises in a post-industrialized world, where households don't know where their water, food, or energy come from. Where big, fiat-funded bureaucratic agencies make decisions and policies for *public health* from on high and detached from locales. There are many people in power that benefit from a populace that is fat, sick, dumb, and dependent. But there are also just bureaucrats maintaining status quo. I think the fluoride issue is just one of a great many issues that this is true for. Anyway, I could say more, but I'll reiterate that you make fine points and I too am a big fan of free market capitalism, despite the shortcomings.

You make fine points as well. Zero snark detected in your earlier comment. We are aligned on the post-industrial dynamics around “public health” And that local municipal worker dialing back the fluoride… not all heroes wear capes.