Ed wrote on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:06:14 GMT:
??>> "Ian Hoare" wrote ........ ??>>>
??>>> .....there's an enormous amount of counterfeiting carried ??>>> out, and it is the consumer who very often who gets ??>>> duped...........a good product should sell under its own ??>>> identity, and shouldn't need to borrow a name from ??>>> somewhere else. And that should apply, in my view to ??>>> cheeses (cheddar and feta for example), to coffee (Blue ??>>> Mountain is more than simply a colour and a geographical ??>>> description) and to a great many other products. ??>>>
??>> I know it is not quite the same, but European (French) ??>> wineries themselves indulge in some "marketing ??>> subterfuge". ??>>
??>> I refer to the marketing (in the UK) of some pretty ??>> ordinary French wine as "Kiwi Cuvee". ??>>
??>> st.helier ??>>
ER> As an inveterate and unapologetic free-market capitalist, ER> I've got to wonder about the reluctance of the EU, the USA, ER> and others to allow the play of the free market. If ER> "Champagne", tokaji, cognac, cheddar, or whatever product ER> is good, why can't it compete?
ER> If a label says quite clearly "California Champagne" would ER> it be unreasonable to assume that a drinking age consumer ER> would be literate enough to realize it doesn't come from Ay ER> or Epernay?
ER> I doubt that someone seeking Champagne would find Andre to ER> be a suitable substitute.
ER> The magic of the marketplace is that if someone labels a ER> product misleadingly, it won't take long for the consumers ER> to migrate away from that product. In other words the ER> practice will not be rewarded by success. Whenever ER> governments get involved, the result is always something ER> less than beneficial to the citizens.
ER> If, on the other hand, the marketplace finds "California ER> Champagne" at 3 Euros a bottle to be a preferable drink to ER> something "authentic" but of marginal quality then Andre ER> will make inroads into the business of the lesser regional ER> producers. They, will then be forced to improve their ER> product (good outcome!) or leave the marketplace (not bad ER> either!)
I'm afraid that I tend to agree with you Ed. Governments have a role in protecting the populace from actual harm but the attitude "We bureaucrats and politicians, being superior beings, need to protect you dim plebs from scams we'd never be taken in by" is one that riles me. And I'm generally regarded as a flaming liberal! There's a lot to be said for real capitalist competition!
James Silverton Potomac, Maryland
E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not