http://crookedtimber.org/2003/09/30/astroturf/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Thu, 24 May 2012 14:52:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://crookedtimber.org/2003/09/30/astroturf/comment-page-1/#comment-4940 William Sjostrom Tue, 30 Sep 2003 15:21:35 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=360#comment-4940 But look at the groups that are members, heavily Naderite. I've driven Corvairs, and really like them, so they are opposed to my consumer interests. The first underlying difficulty is that so long as consumers are heterogeneous, it is not clear that there is a single "consumer" position. The second difficulty is that to the extent consumer groups are a response to the diverse interests of consumers, then consumers are unlikely to be represented, as distinct from particular groups of consumers with interests that may differ quite substantially from unrepresented consumers. But look at the groups that are members, heavily Naderite. I’ve driven Corvairs, and really like them, so they are opposed to my consumer interests. The first underlying difficulty is that so long as consumers are heterogeneous, it is not clear that there is a single “consumer” position. The second difficulty is that to the extent consumer groups are a response to the diverse interests of consumers, then consumers are unlikely to be represented, as distinct from particular groups of consumers with interests that may differ quite substantially from unrepresented consumers.

]]>