Russ Nelson:
There’s no point to objecting to advocacy for free markets by
pointing out there is no pure free market, free of any coercive
influence. We can compare more-free markets to less free markets, and
decide which ones we like. If we like more-free markets, then we
advocate for free markets, all the while realizing that the people who
like less free markets will prevent us from having a completely free
market.

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Russ points toward an old post of mine about the claim of free markets. My point is that… we are dealing with fictions and fantasies when we talk about ‘free markets’ and ‘free-er markets’. Most things people(and note, i was not not addressing the specific definitions of economists, which may be more or less problematic depending on whether you think their formal models and definitions approximate anything beyond themselves) call markets are not markets, but regulated exchanges, regulated by too many factors to even approximate an ideal market, or even an ideal transaction situation. I think it would behove most people to go back and actually read Adam Smith’s thoughts on markets and specifically on the theory of moral sentiments in relation to markets, as I think that his work is closest to my position.

Metaverse Meetup:
So I decided to go to the Metaverse Meetup Friday night, because Eric Rice was in town and it would have been nice to meet up with Jeremy Hunsinger as well. Unfortunately, at the restaurant my introversion kicked into high gear, and after some standing around with a beer hoping someone would spontaneously decide to talk to me I made my way to a seat against the wall.
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Yep, I was there. It was a good time. I met many very interesting people and there are many possibilities for collaboration and development. I didn’t actually meet Steven, but I met Eric, Jerry, many of the sheeps, Rafi, Melody, and many many others. I didn’t do the video, figuring, I already have plenty of media exposure, but….

:
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – A 330-foot-deep sinkhole killed at least two teenagers as it swallowed about a dozen homes early Friday and forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 people in a crowded Guatemala City neighborhood. Officials blamed the sinkhole on recent rains and an underground sewage flow from a ruptured main.

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sometimes the earth does open up and swallow people….