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#11
09-12-2006, 11:57 AM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
Even if people want to give the US government a 50/100 for it's performance compared to an idealistic view of how government should function, no government has performed better. Grading on a curve, it still gets you an A.
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#12
09-12-2006, 12:00 PM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Does it show what you get for it, so you can make a jadgement as to whether you prefer living now or 100 years ago, in a lower tax environment. Mack [/ QUOTE ] Well, the question of my preference is only relevant to my portion of the government spending burden. I would prefer lower taxes, but the real question is what each individual would prefer to do with his own resources. I don't claim to know what each individual's preference is. But i also claim that the government doesn't know. Left alone, an individual will spend his money the way he wants. The government uses coercive force to take money from its citizens, so there is no reason to think it is being spent on the things the citizens would have spent it on otherwise. In fact, there is a reason to think it is being spent contrary to the intentions of the original owners, because otherwise coercive force would not have been necessary. [/ QUOTE ] So do you believe that Democracy is a fundamentally flawed concept? Or am I taking your point too literally that the individual knows best. Mack
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#13
09-12-2006, 12:35 PM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
[ QUOTE ]
So do you believe that Democracy is a fundamentally flawed concept? Or am I taking your point too literally that the individual knows best. [/ QUOTE ] No, that is what I am saying. The myth is that the government is of the People, by the People, and for the People. But "The People" does not exist; there are only individuals. They do not all have the same preferences. There is no public good, there is only what each individuals subjectively determines is good. For every government act there are winners and losers. People who get what they want and people who didn't. People who don't have to pay for the full cost of getting what they want, and people who have to pay for what other people want. We say things like, "everyone benefits from roads." It might be true that everyone places a positive value on roads (although it probably isn't), but it is certainly not true that everyone places the same value on roads. An important point is that in allocating resources towards building roads we are allocating those resources away from other projects. The question is not do you want roads, the question is do you want them more than police or plasma TVs (or whatever). When the government builds roads some people are paying more for the roads than the roads are worth to them. They would rather do something else with their resources. We tell ourselves the myth of "the public good" in order to conceal the innocence of these victims.
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#14
09-12-2006, 02:23 PM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
[ QUOTE ]
Granting that the purpose of a government is to protect, preserve, and promote the intrests of its citizens - [/ QUOTE ] You cannot claim that. The state does not allow the people competition in their 'services'.
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#15
09-12-2006, 06:30 PM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
All this "the state is negative by definition" nonsense was refuted decisively over a half century ago, several times...of course, we have very short memories. Mises defended an already refuted position, and then it was refuted again.
Check out my last few posts in this thread [ QUOTE ] We tell ourselves the myth of "the public good" in order to conceal the innocence of these victims. [/ QUOTE ] Now this is just sad...myth of public goods???? Let's see you refute Olson's theory of collective action. Your comments are a non sequitur, because all people in an area don't have to all value something or all value it the same for a public goods problem to occur (the same is true of coordination and cooperation problems).
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#16
09-12-2006, 06:50 PM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
Actually, it does. Its called elections...people can vote in a new government every few years, and if most people really wanted smaller gov't or even "minarchism" they could vote in the libertarian party.
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#17
09-12-2006, 06:54 PM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
[ QUOTE ]
Even if people want to give the US government a 50/100 for it's performance compared to an idealistic view of how government should function, no government has performed better. Grading on a curve, it still gets you an A. [/ QUOTE ] In my continuing attempts to alienate everyone, I'm going to dispute this as well... Many if not most of the other western democracies have the following advantages over the U.S.: lower violent crime rates, lower incarceration rates, less inequality, lower absolute and relative poverty rates, higher life expectancies, better election rules and cheaper health care and education than the U.S. does.
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#18
09-12-2006, 08:00 PM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
[ QUOTE ]
Actually, it does. Its called elections...people can vote in a new government every few years, and if most people really wanted smaller gov't or even "minarchism" they could vote in the libertarian party. [/ QUOTE ] Right. So if the majority likes cola I can't drink Pepsi.
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#19
09-12-2006, 08:45 PM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
No. The majority can, and does, choose not to "tyrannize" the minority in this way. DUH. You can go and buy pepsi or coke right now.
But since there is either one ultimate authority/arbiter of disputes, or no effective arbitration of disputes, there is either one federal gov't, or none (the states are the ultimate arbitrer in some areas, of course). Basic poli sci 101.
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#20
09-12-2006, 08:55 PM
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Re: How\'s the U.S. Government performed over the last 200 years?
[ QUOTE ]
But since there is either one ultimate authority/arbiter of disputes, or no effective arbitration of disputes [/ QUOTE ] I'd love to hear this backed up because I've never heard of such a concept in any of my poli sci classes.
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