Current Events > Shouldn't free market libertarians be pro unions?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I mean what is a union of disgruntled workers competing for better pay/treatment etc if not a non government response/consequence to the actions of businesses?

Isn't that the entire point? You let people try stuff and best stuff wins out due to the invisible hand of the free market influencing peoples actions, reactions and strategies?

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It's whatever the owner wants

If the owner wants to be spiteful and dissolve the whole company as a fuck you to unions, that's cool

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In theory, but in practice libertarians are just republicans

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The invisible hand of the market would and generally did fire workers for organizing, until federal law prevented them from doing so.

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Antifar posted...

The invisible hand of the market would and generally did fire workers for organizing, until federal law prevented them from doing so.

I see

So its not anti union so much as anti government laws protecting unions?

That makes sense

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It's just pro-leavemealonefuckyouimasnek

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If the union adds value to the company, it will be tolerated. Otherwise, no.

This doesn't matter if you're in some idealist free-market society, or a labor-centric one that nominally protects unions. If the union becomes a burden, it will be made irrelevant somehow, usually by outsourcing to Bangladesh or Vietnam or something.

Even a "people's republic" will eviscerate a burdensome union, sometimes literally.

voluntaryists are as a rule pro-union, since it qualifies as voluntary association.

most other garden variety free market libertarians tend to support the freedom to unionize with this in mind, but may be critical of its economic tradeoffs.

the only libertarians as far as i know that are explicitly anti-union are hoppeans, or at least its contractual discouragement is prescribed in private communities within a purely free market framework.

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TheMikh posted...

most other garden variety free market libertarians tend to support the right to unionize with this in mind, but may be critical of its economic tradeoffs.

This just seems like cynical realism to me.
Go, unionize. Just don't be surprised when your workplace is suddenly "planned for closure several months ago" or something, somehow.

IMO unions have a role in free markets. Most republicans that considers themselves free marketers tend to ignore all the ways regulation and law have benefited corporations. They will oppose anything that empowers unions in effect supporting an unfree market.

Unions play a role and are necessary to support worker interests in a free market. The GOP has gone too far to strip away union protections, in effect, making it less free of a market.

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TheGoldenEel posted...

In theory, but in practice libertarians are just republicans

There are libertarians on the left as well

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Questionmarktarius posted...

This just seems like cynical realism to me.
Go, unionize. Just don't be surprised when your workplace is suddenly "planned for closure several months ago" or something, somehow.

wouldn't dispute this. some form of worker performance standards within unions themselves are perhaps important to keep from butchering the golden goose, so to speak.

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