Is gov't the only way to control externalities, or will the market correct its own inefficiencies? One solution would be MORE private ownership, so that the owner of the wild geese would have a vested interest in making sure pollution from the local coal plant didn't mutate their ugly ducklings, or whatever.
Do copyrights and patents prove that the free market system is irrevocably flawed? How does biology deal with the costs of mimicry? There is ample evidence that innovation is not greater in countries with better intellectual property rights. Does this show that these incentives aren't significant, and hence necessary? "The intellectual property issues, when it comes to copying drugs, involve an irreconciliable clash between rule and act utilitarianism."[Marginal Revolution]
What does GDP or even utility/happiness/welfare have to do with what we really want to maximize?
Are defense and health both public goods that shouldn't be relegated to the private sector. CF. The voluntary city.
Good Econ Reads:
Marginal Revolution Blog
Reason Magazine
Freakonomics Blog
Overcoming Bias Blog
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