Examinator,

With all due respect, comparing modern economics with Adams Smith discourse on the wealth of nations is like comparing a modern car with a donkey cart.

I would also ask you to ponder whether if corporations like Monsanto did not exist who would have developed Glyphos and Glyphos resistant crops or even the hybrids we have today. Given the huge costs involved I suspect not, and given that bugs and weeds evolve resistance, we would be in a poor condition food wise.

The alternative would be to return to the even more discredited socialist policies which simply ensured that nearly everyone was equally dispossesed.

I would further ask you, given that Joe Bloggs can buy seed and Glyphos from many sources, how Monsanto's innovation has harmed anyone.

The talk of profiteering is founded in envy, and considering that this innovation is increasing food supply, it has no other foundation as far as world hunger is concerned.

examinator, I agree laws do not stop people from breaking them. However, if people do break laws – even if they are companies – there is recourse in the law and somebody should be going after them.

.>>d’Escoto’s past is irrelevant i.e. Howard came to the treasury with more ideology than real knowledge of economics yet he still pontificated.<<

d'Escoto’s past is entirely relevant. There is nothing in his past that indicates he has any expertise in this area. He made statements that were obviously incorrect, but which did conform with his Marxist ideology. Likewise, Howard’s ideology is entirely relevant when considering his performance at the Treasury and as Prime Minister. I am not saying d’Escoto or Howard shouldn’t pontificate, just that we shouldn’t be told to believe them based on the positions they hold.

I would agree that corporations are not perfect; however, sadly they appear to be the best and most responsive way to get products to the market. The alternatives to corporations doing this is governments, no-one else has the financial resources to deal with the regulatory, safety and trade issues. Government monopolies quickly become unresponsive to people’s needs because there is no competition and therefore no incentive to continue to improve the product. Commercial monopolies are just as bad. Certainly in the US they have anti-trust laws to stop commercial monopolies from forming.