The following question was emailed to Glenn Woiceshyn, by an ABC reporter, regarding the government’s assault on Microsoft. Reprinted below is Glenn’s reply.
Q: What do you think of the latest addition of Bob Dole and Robert Bork to the anti-Microsoft team? Do you think that will have any impact in swaying the right the cause of regulating in Microsoft? What do you think will come next in this saga?
A. It is totally unsurprising that Dole and Bork have joined the campaign to destroy Microsoft under the guise of protecting “competition” and “consumers.”
Dole and Bork are prime examples of the intellectual bankruptcy of the “right.” They are essentially pragmatists who reject principles in favor of majority decree. Qua pragmatists, they do not understand the principles upon which America was founded — individual rights — nor the fact that protection of individual rights, including property rights, is the key to prosperity. Thus, they do not understand that Microsoft (i.e., its shareholders) — which has benefitted America greatly — owns its software and thus has the right to sell it on its terms. They do not understand that if Microsoft has no right to its own property then neither does anyone have a right to it or to their own property. They do not understand that the initiation of physical force (including theft and fraud) is the basic means of violating individual rights. Thus, they do not understand the difference between “economic power” — the power to invest, hire, produce, trade — and “political power” — the power to persecute, extort, imprison, kill.
They do not understand that the essence of a free market is “freedom to produce” and its corollary “freedom of competition” (which includes market strategies to gain more market share), not “competition by decree” — a fascist notion where the government persecutes any company that earns, via superlative ability, more market share than its competitors.
I don’t think Dole and Bork will have any significant impact. They are merely pragmatist expedients joining a heavily-armed gang of anti-Microsoft barbarians on the march going in for the kill, cashing in on the fact that most Americans do not understand that they are barbarians because most Americans do not understand the true meaning and glory of individual rights. Whether Microsoft wins or loses will depend on whether Americans come to realize that, in essence, the assault on Microsoft is an assault on the basic rights of Microsoft’s shareholders and hence on the founding principles of America.
I cannot predict the future precisely because people have free will. The fate of Microsoft depends primarily on Microsoft (and any defender of individual rights who can get past media bias). If Microsoft were to defend itself primarily on moral grounds — on the grounds that Bill Gates and Microsoft’s other shareholders have the inalienable right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” which includes the right to earn high market share and zillions of dollars under free enterprise — Microsoft would win.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has been conceding the moral high ground (and many economic premises) to its enemies. As long as Bill Gates goes around apologetically promising to give his wealth away and pretending to be just like Ordinary Joe who eats hamburgers at McDonald’s — thus conceding the moral high ground to those who believe that “need” and envy entitle people to his wealth, that he is a servant of the people — he will be destroyed by the barbarians, just as Michael Milken shamefully (and disgustingly) was.
Allow me to say in closing that any country that regards Bill Gates — a creative and productive genius — as its enemy, yet regards Ralph Nader — who produces nothing but red tape to strangle producers — as its savior, is a country that is morally sick and headed for hell. — GW
