Repeated failure
Politicians and their governments repeatedly fail us. The reason why is remarkably simple. They don't know what you want. They don't know what you want, because they take your money by force.Why it never works
An underwear store
Politics and governance never work because it is the use of force as a means to an end. It is not the bureaucrats or any other people associated with governments fault. In fact, all the people I know (some of which are my family) who are involved in working for the government are some of the brightest, organised and efficient people I know. Much more so than me! No it is not the people, it is the very nature of the system which is at fault.
The system fails because it "obtains its income by coercion and violence -- by the direct threat of confiscation or imprisonment if payment is not forthcoming. The coercive payment is taxation" [1]. Put simply, you have to pay the government for its 'services' regardless of the quality. You have no choice. This has two major impacts: 1) government service providers have no incentive to do a good job as you pay them anyway and 2), government service providers have essentially no way of knowing what people actually value.
To illustrate the first issue of wrong incentives, imagine a government underwear store in which you get your underwear from, and you have no choice about it because you paid for it through your taxes. For the 'manager' of the store there is no profit, no incentive to provide a good service because you can not take your money somewhere else. He get's paid regardless.
Do you see how, when you remove profit, you remove the incentive to do a good job? In the non-government world, as consumers we all demand a good job and as producers we all desire more profit. In the voluntary world it is us, the consumers who freely choose the store owner who is the 'underwear king'.
OK, but what happens if the government bureaucrats are a group of angels who, regardless of having no incentive to provide a good service, want to anyway. Indeed, in New Zealand many bureaucrats are selfless angels. Of course this is a good thing, but how are they supposed to know what people want, what people value, if they do not pay for it? Shall we have a vote? This brings us to the second issue.
Of course outside of politics we vote everyday in the market place, choosing Undies X over Undies Y, expressing our preferences and values. If I choose Blue Undies X, you can choose Pink Undies Y. Choices regarding underwear is something we all love! But all this changes when we insert democracy into the the political framework. Voting and democracy actually becomes a very bad thing both morally and practically. This is something even the Greeks came to realise [2].
Morally voting and democracy fails in the political framework because what we choose, everyone else has to follow. If I choose Sparkling Pink and Purple Undies X, heaven forbid, you are forced to have Sparkling Pink and Purple Undies X as well. Suffice to say, this would make a lot of people upset!
Practically, voting and democracy fails because it is just 100% unrealistic in regards to time and to expecting people to know what they're voting for. Imagine if we were to vote on the undergarment industry, would you know how many casual, sports, and fancy panties should be produced by pantie makers all over the country? Of course not.
Don't be foolish I hear you say, that is just being unrealistic and overly dramatic. We would never vote on such a thing, we would just employ a government 'manager' to figure it out for us. Alas, I point you to the original issue! If people don't pay for the amount and type of underwear they want, how on earth is the government manager supposed to know how many of each type be produced? What you pay for not only demands good service, it also sends information to the producer as to what consumers value. This information is what economists call 'price signals'.
And price signals my dear non-economic loving friends is what makes modern society possible. It is also why, when the Soviet Union in Russia nationalised the food industry, people waited for days in line, starving to death for bread. Lack of price signals and the information they convey, is why the Soviet Union and its communist/socialist ilk inevitably collapse.
Now is it any surprise that the world, through continuous practice of immoral behaviour, is becoming an increasingly immoral place? The democratic decay within society is what leads to totalitarist control as everyone tries to force everyone else to conform to their values, ideals, and visions of utopia. The Road to Serfdom as it has been termed, all begins with political democracy and its destructive, divisive violence. It is the road to Adolf Hitler, and tragically, we are witnessing history repeating itself.
The system fails because it "obtains its income by coercion and violence -- by the direct threat of confiscation or imprisonment if payment is not forthcoming. The coercive payment is taxation" [1]. Put simply, you have to pay the government for its 'services' regardless of the quality. You have no choice. This has two major impacts: 1) government service providers have no incentive to do a good job as you pay them anyway and 2), government service providers have essentially no way of knowing what people actually value.
To illustrate the first issue of wrong incentives, imagine a government underwear store in which you get your underwear from, and you have no choice about it because you paid for it through your taxes. For the 'manager' of the store there is no profit, no incentive to provide a good service because you can not take your money somewhere else. He get's paid regardless.
Do you see how, when you remove profit, you remove the incentive to do a good job? In the non-government world, as consumers we all demand a good job and as producers we all desire more profit. In the voluntary world it is us, the consumers who freely choose the store owner who is the 'underwear king'.
OK, but what happens if the government bureaucrats are a group of angels who, regardless of having no incentive to provide a good service, want to anyway. Indeed, in New Zealand many bureaucrats are selfless angels. Of course this is a good thing, but how are they supposed to know what people want, what people value, if they do not pay for it? Shall we have a vote? This brings us to the second issue.
Of course outside of politics we vote everyday in the market place, choosing Undies X over Undies Y, expressing our preferences and values. If I choose Blue Undies X, you can choose Pink Undies Y. Choices regarding underwear is something we all love! But all this changes when we insert democracy into the the political framework. Voting and democracy actually becomes a very bad thing both morally and practically. This is something even the Greeks came to realise [2].
Morally voting and democracy fails in the political framework because what we choose, everyone else has to follow. If I choose Sparkling Pink and Purple Undies X, heaven forbid, you are forced to have Sparkling Pink and Purple Undies X as well. Suffice to say, this would make a lot of people upset!
Practically, voting and democracy fails because it is just 100% unrealistic in regards to time and to expecting people to know what they're voting for. Imagine if we were to vote on the undergarment industry, would you know how many casual, sports, and fancy panties should be produced by pantie makers all over the country? Of course not.
Don't be foolish I hear you say, that is just being unrealistic and overly dramatic. We would never vote on such a thing, we would just employ a government 'manager' to figure it out for us. Alas, I point you to the original issue! If people don't pay for the amount and type of underwear they want, how on earth is the government manager supposed to know how many of each type be produced? What you pay for not only demands good service, it also sends information to the producer as to what consumers value. This information is what economists call 'price signals'.
And price signals my dear non-economic loving friends is what makes modern society possible. It is also why, when the Soviet Union in Russia nationalised the food industry, people waited for days in line, starving to death for bread. Lack of price signals and the information they convey, is why the Soviet Union and its communist/socialist ilk inevitably collapse.
Decaying Democracy
An Underweir Law
"Hitler did not have to destroy democracy; he merely took advantage of the decay of democracy and at the critical moment obtained the support of many to whom, though they detested Hitler, he yet seemed the only man strong enough to get things done." ~ Friedrich Hayek [3]Remember how I said that if I voted and forced everyone to have Sparkling Pink and Purple Panties then that would make a lot of people angry? Well it does, everyday. Politicians and their democracy make a lot of people very angry by either forcing them to do or pay for something they would not otherwise. For example, I'm very upset when the National Government decides to spend $12bn on a set of new highways. Forcing other people to value what you value is not a good way to go about life and to try and make friends. But this is exactly what happens when we vote politically. Voting is the method for obtaining legal power to coerce others. Or in other words, we all gang up on each and forcefully push our point of view.
Now is it any surprise that the world, through continuous practice of immoral behaviour, is becoming an increasingly immoral place? The democratic decay within society is what leads to totalitarist control as everyone tries to force everyone else to conform to their values, ideals, and visions of utopia. The Road to Serfdom as it has been termed, all begins with political democracy and its destructive, divisive violence. It is the road to Adolf Hitler, and tragically, we are witnessing history repeating itself.
References and sources
1. Murray Rothbard: Libertarian Manifesto, pg 57.
2. Robert Lefavre: Abstain from Beans
3. Friedrich Hayek: Road to Serfdom
2. Robert Lefavre: Abstain from Beans
3. Friedrich Hayek: Road to Serfdom
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