http://www.thefreemanonline.org/anything-peaceful/interview-with-bill-gates/ Ideas on Liberty Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:51:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.thefreemanonline.org/anything-peaceful/interview-with-bill-gates/comment-page-1/#comment-21688 Kevin Carson Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:49:09 +0000 http://www.feeblog.org/?p=555#comment-21688 Any praise of free markets from Bill Gates should be taken with several pounds of salt. Microsoft, along with the RIAA and MPAA, belongs to a coalition of Copyright Nazis whose profits depend mainly on government-enforced monopolies.For that matter, the tech industry is one of the most intensively state-capitalist sectors in the whole economy--and that's saying a whole lot. Probably more than half of its R&D, from WWII on, has been funded by the military. It's probably no coincidence that the most profitable sectors of the global economy follow business models heavily dependent on "intellectual property" [sic], direct subsidies, or both. Any praise of free markets from Bill Gates should be taken with several pounds of salt. Microsoft, along with the RIAA and MPAA, belongs to a coalition of Copyright Nazis whose profits depend mainly on government-enforced monopolies.For that matter, the tech industry is one of the most intensively state-capitalist sectors in the whole economy–and that’s saying a whole lot. Probably more than half of its R&D, from WWII on, has been funded by the military. It’s probably no coincidence that the most profitable sectors of the global economy follow business models heavily dependent on “intellectual property” [sic], direct subsidies, or both.

]]> http://www.thefreemanonline.org/anything-peaceful/interview-with-bill-gates/comment-page-1/#comment-21687 Carl Clegg Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:53:57 +0000 http://www.feeblog.org/?p=555#comment-21687 I have mixed feelings on Bill Gates. On the surface he and Warren Buffet appear to be the icons of capitalism. However, Warren Buffet is a registered Democrat and supported Hillary Clinton and then Obama in the last election cycle. Gates is not very vocal on politics but historically has championed a number of liberal causes (gun control and urban renewal policies to name a couple). On the flip side, it's nice to see the vast array of projects that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is taking on to improve the world. Is not this how charity is supposed to work -- volunteers who donate their own time and talent and in this case, vast sums of money, to help out others? I have mixed feelings on Bill Gates. On the surface he and Warren Buffet appear to be the icons of capitalism. However, Warren Buffet is a registered Democrat and supported Hillary Clinton and then Obama in the last election cycle. Gates is not very vocal on politics but historically has championed a number of liberal causes (gun control and urban renewal policies to name a couple). On the flip side, it’s nice to see the vast array of projects that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is taking on to improve the world. Is not this how charity is supposed to work — volunteers who donate their own time and talent and in this case, vast sums of money, to help out others?

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