Ridley writes porn for the freshwater crowd.

Good Morning Charles,
Whether the free exchange of ideas is "Neoliberal" or not remains to be seen. I believe the exchange of ideas like genomes does create a natural diversity. We live in a continuum. Things change (its the only constant).

However, I am not a fan of ideology of either the hard Left or hard Right. It is one of the reasons I like this forum (SLOG) even though I'm in disagreement with much of what is posted. But, I do learn from these postings.

What was offensive about the idea presented in that excerpt? I honestly want to understand.

Sex has always been used as a commodity in a market economy. It's one way for a woman to make a livable income during any economic conditions. Males of many species offer material advantage to females in exchange for sex. It's instinctual that females would seek this to provide for the well being of her young and give them an advantage. And there is an analogy to the division of labor here as well. Producers and consumers fit into sex roles. It seems natural that the very earliest market exchanges were of a sexual nature.

Those interested in Ridley's very good book might wish to know about my own book, THE CASE FOR RATIONAL OPTIMISM (Transaction Books, Rutgers University, 2009), which makes quite similar points and arguments, but develops the case for optimism over a broader range of subject areas. See http://www.fsrcoin.com/k.htm

Those interested in Ridley's very good book might wish to know about my own book, THE CASE FOR RATIONAL OPTIMISM (Transaction Books, Rutgers University, 2009), which makes quite similar points and arguments, but develops the case for optimism over a broader range of subject areas. See http://www.fsrcoin.com/k.htm