V2: This text was modified to include the Norwegian translation of the original English language text, which it follows. (2019-02-05 09:50)

One of the comments I received from a reader of keywords, was that the text was too difficult to understand. Starting this week, I will be paraphrasing the content written by John Patrick Leary, in Keywords: The New Language of Capitalism.

Choice (N.)

Choice, we are told, involves an individual freely weighing options in a rational marketplace. Whether it involves consumer goods, or political decisions, it is used to describe the practice of freedom.

James Buchanan, a conservative economist, active in the late 1950s and 1960s, looked at political decisions as analogous to economic decisions, where people try to maximize their individual advantage. He is responsible for starting discussions about choices.

Nancy MacLean, in Democracy in Chains, comments that both conservatives and liberals maintain that choice is always better than not having a choice, so that having a collective health care program is always viewed as inferior to one offering more choices, even if these are more expensive.

Choice is celebrated as a virtue. Margaret Thatcher told an audience in 1977, “Choice is the essence of ethics: if there were no choice, there would be no ethics, no good, no evil; good and evil have meaning only insofar as man is free to choose.” Thatcher speaks of individual choice as if it is identical to social responsibility. She famously said, “There is no such thing as society—there are only individuals, and their families.”

Today, we could add, there are no free choices, because they quickly become compulsory.

Discussion

At the same time as unnecessary choices are being required of people, rights to choose for ordinary consumers are being denied. In particular, the right to repair has become an important issue.

1. In a case that has become known all over the world, Apple sued a small repair workshop in Norway. The result was not something that they espected. See: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3yadk/apple-sued-an-independent-iphone-repair-shop-owner-and-lost

2. Farmers in USA have also been engaged in an ongoing fight with John Deere: https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/motherboard-farmers-fighting-big-tech-right-to-repair-tractors/59a04cd18950d06e318a1c53

3. Here is the latest development: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/evex8z/right-to-repair-advocates-are-hosting-youtube-town-halls-to-show-you-how-to-get-involved-in-the-movement

How are you being forced to make choices that should be unnecessary? How are you being prevented from making choices you feel should be offered?

Nøkkelord 06 Valg

En av kommentarene jeg mottok fra en leser, var at teksten var for vanskelig å forstå. Fra denne uken vil jeg omskrive innholdet skrevet av John Patrick Leary, i Nøkkelord: Kapitalismens nye språk.

Valg (N.)

Valg, vi får beskjed, involverer en individuell fritt veiing som foregår på en rasjonell marked. Enten det involverer forbruk eller politiske beslutninger, er det brukt til å beskrive folks øvelse av frihet.

James Buchanan, en konservativ økonom, aktiv i slutten av 1950-tallet og 1960-tallet, påstå at politiske beslutninger tilsvarer økonomiske beslutninger, hvor folk prøver å maksimere sine individuelle fordeler. Han er ansvarlig for å starte diskusjoner om valg.

Nancy MacLean, i boken Democracy in Chains (Demokrati i kjeder), sier at både konservative og liberale opprettholder at valget alltid er bedre enn ikke å ha et valg, slik at det å ha et kollektivt helseprogram alltid blir sett på som dårligere enn det man tilbyr flere valg, selv om disse er dyrere. Dette, blant annet forklarer det oppdelte amerikanske “helseforsikring.”

Valg feires som en dyd. Margaret Thatcher fortalte et publikum i 1977: “Valg er essensen av etikk: Hvis det ikke var noe valg, ville det ikke være noe etikk, ikke godt, ikke noe ondt; God og ond har bare mening så langt man kan velge. “Thatcher snakker om individuelt valg som om det er identisk med samfunnsansvar. Hun sa famously: “Det finnes ikke et samfunn – det er bare personer, og deres familier.”

I dag kan vi legge til, at det blir ingen frie valg, fordi de raskt blir obligatoriske.

Diskusjon

Samtidig som mennesker blir påkrevd unødvendige valg, blir vanlige forbrukere nektet sine rettigheter til å velge . Spesielt er retten til å reparere blitt et viktig problem.

1. I et tilfelle som har blitt kjent over hele verden, saksøkte Apple et lite reparasjonsverksted i Norge. Resultatet var ikke noe de hadde til hensikt. Se: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3yadk/apple-sued-an-independent-iphone-repair-shop-owner-and-lost

2. Bønder i USA har også vært engasjert i en pågående kamp med John Deere: https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/motherboard-farmers-fighting-big-tech-right-to-repair-tractors/59a04cd18950d06e318a1c53

3. Her er den nyeste utviklingen: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/evex8z/right-to-repair-advocates-are-hosting-youtube-town-halls-to-show-you-how-to-get-involved-in-the-movement

Hvordan blir du tvunget til å foreta valg som burde være unødvendige? Hvordan blir du forhindret i å gjøre valg du føler bør bli tilbudt?