Quote:
Originally Posted by Robbie
How die he have anything to do with libertarians? The Libertarian Party was founded in 1971.
He died in 1937. lol
He was a straight up capitalist...period. He didn't believe in 1/100th of what Libertarians are for. He was just really, really good at making money.
I doubt very seriously he was pro-gay marriage, anti-war on drugs, pro-choice for abortion, anti-big govt. (hell he was one of the guys who REALLY owned the govt.).
But yeah, many regulations did come into play...but not because of his personal beliefs.
The reality is that he was a pioneer of industry that was breaking new ground. Regulation HAD to be put in place as there was nothing like Standard Oil before.
Electricity had made kerosene lamps pretty much obsolete. He put his people to work on finding something to do with the "waste" product of refining oil. Turned out that "waste product" was gasoline and his fortune went through the stratosphere.
It was all new. Never done before.
They had great successes and they did some things wrong too. Thus the regulations.
There is no way that ANYBODY would have been able to do it any other way. Nobody yet know WHAT to regulate about the oil industry and the new combustion engine, etc.
They figured it out as they went along.
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my comment was not really directed at libertarianism as the modern day belief system, but rather the fact that business in the late 19th century was laizze faire, i.e. completely devoid of any government regulation, & therefore the ideal of libertarians for an economic system free from government restraint. The giant fortunes of the gilded age were a triumph of a business climate unfettered by government.
but it was not about regulations catching up to new business practices. The things John D did were criminalized. i really cant do justice about what im saying in a paragraph. The way he ran his business was considered immoral, deceitful, & ultimately made criminal acts. Thats a step beyond just regulations catching up to a new business.