[augustulus]

do you have a counter-argument? because what I’m reading here is “you’re wrong and lying or lied to because of an ‘agenda’” and that’s it

what do you think GP or someone who has lied to GP really thinks?

why are they lying?

what’s their agenda?

do you agree that we (in the West) currently broadly live under Friedman’s version of capitalism, and, if so, do you agree that it broadly follows the mantra of “profit/shareholder value above all else”?

if you don’t think we live under that system, what system do you think we live under, and what differs it from the mantra of “profit/shareholder value above all else”?

[mannykannot]

You have presented a preposterous and completely unjustifiable reading of what I actually wrote, and then demand me to justify it? That's not going to happen, of course.

[augustulus]

you don’t have to justify your assertions to me or anyone else, but make sure you can justify them to yourself. have a think about what you said and see how deeply you can support it. you don’t have to reply. you don’t even have to bluster and make accusations. just try and think about it slowly and unemotionally in your own head.

what agenda were you referring to?

who is being deceitful?

what are they trying to hide?

what were the primary tenets of Friedman’s capitalist philosophy?

don’t answer to me, just make sure you have solid answers for yourself

[mannykannot]

I don't have to justify them to myself or anyone else, because they are figments of your imagination that have no basis in anything at all. In all the articles and comments I have written anywhere, I have never before received any response so unhinged from what I actually wrote.

[augustulus]

some people learn to justify their opinions. some people learn to bluster and accuse and talk about how many articles they’ve written

are you denying that you claimed this form of capitalism doesn’t prioritise profit above all else?

are you denying that you made the accusation that some people who disagree with that are lying? you’re aware of what the word deceitful means, I’m sure

are you denying you claimed those people are lying to serve some agenda?

if you want to check your answers, those are all things you said in your comment

[mannykannot]

> if you want to check your answers, those are all things you said in your comment.

This is utter nonsense, as is obvious to anyone who can read. It is telling that you have not explained how you arrived at these ridiculous conclusions.

[augustulus]

my friend, anyone can come to these conclusions by reading your literal words:

>capitalism is not the simple proposition that profit justifies anything, even if some people sometimes suggest that it is

>in order to advance their agenda

>in a rather deceitful manner

so by very clear implication:

>capitalism doesn’t prioritise profit over everything else

>people say otherwise because they have an agenda

>those same people push their agenda with lies (deceit)

just a stab in the dark, but is all this very dramatic bluster and outrage simply because you levelled your accusation at people GP agrees with rather than at GP directly? did you expect a level of plausible deniability because of that? is that why you’re so angry?

if you’re so unable to say what that deceit or agenda is, why did you say it at all? were you trying to sound “in the know” or smart?