Capitalism and economic struggles

[Vincent Penquerc'h]

> I actually don't impose my ideals.

Not any more than I do, that may be so. I wasn't the one to utter"
> What part of "Don't impose your ideals on others" do you not 
> understand?
Did I ask for laws ? I didn't. But that's besides the point, is it ?

> I do however urge others to accept and adopt them.  Point in case, you
> have assumed that I smoke.  I actually don't, and never have 

I have a nasty habit to indiscriminately say "you" instead of "one",
and, hmm, "the Americans" when I mean "part of the US govt". Seen from
here, anyway. I just can't get the habit out, and it's generalization
that hinders discussion. But I'm very aware of it.

> I'm not imposing, I'm asking.  I don't have a law book to 
> thump, nor a gun
> to point at you, nor a cop waiting to arrest you if you 
> disagree with what
> I say.  Nor am I asking for such laws to prevent or limit others in
> similar ways.

I'm undecided. I was thinking this exact same thing some 15 or 20
years ago. I was really in that Libertarian way of thinking. It makes
some kind of superficial sense, and I've still got ties to a lot of
that thinking. But I now am of the opinion that if you (someone, not
you particularly) do something that affects me, this person actually
is imposing something. Not at gunpoint, not with the threat of force,
litigation, jail time, whatever. But imposing nonetheless.

I'm aware of the difference of scale, and the lack of a formidable
power of coercion from an individual compared to a state. My point
is other, however, that yours. You say the state should not decide
what is and is not allowed. I say that, while the state may indeed
not, it still leaves an unresolved problem, which it is futile to
dismiss with a wave of "personal freedom", because it doesn't only
involve, in this particular case, the smoker.

However, I'm torn by the parallel with, say, free speech. Speech can
affect others, as well as smoke, or anything else, can. If you impose
it, or oppose part of it, where does it stop ? I don't have a solution
to that, apart from case by case analysis. But saying "I can do what
I want even if affects others, short of murder/rape/theft/etc", no,
I don't see that as a solution.

-- 
Vincent Penquerc'h