Violence Overt and Covert
26 August 2007
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
William Boyd rightly advises French winemakers that profitably supplying products that consumers want "requires skill, energy, talent and, obviously, a certain amount of luck" ("Make Wine, Not War," August 26). Mr. Boyd also correctly notes that satisfying consumers "may be harder than throwing homemade bombs."
Alas, many French winemakers remain intent on protecting their markets not by creatively pleasing consumers but by destructively threatening competitors with violence. But before we Americans self-righteously dismiss such greedy brutality as uniquely French, recognize that too many American producers profit from the very same sort of violence. The only difference is that American producers almost always inflict these threats through a heavily armed hireling called Uncle Sam.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
William Boyd rightly advises French winemakers that profitably supplying products that consumers want "requires skill, energy, talent and, obviously, a certain amount of luck" ("Make Wine, Not War," August 26). Mr. Boyd also correctly notes that satisfying consumers "may be harder than throwing homemade bombs."
Alas, many French winemakers remain intent on protecting their markets not by creatively pleasing consumers but by destructively threatening competitors with violence. But before we Americans self-righteously dismiss such greedy brutality as uniquely French, recognize that too many American producers profit from the very same sort of violence. The only difference is that American producers almost always inflict these threats through a heavily armed hireling called Uncle Sam.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Sunday February 24, 2008 at 12:41pm