2/ The first things governments go after are the long hanging fruit - they're a hammer, they search for nails. And they often do pretty well! Even evil governments succeed. If you read about the early things the Soviet Union did, a lot of it was decent. Electrification, etc.
-
-
Show this thread
-
3/ And these early successes build popularity .. and patronage. The generation that sees the communist national government bring electricity, roads, jobs, vaccines etc to remote regions (Siberia, West Virginia, etc.) can become very enthusiastic.
Show this thread -
4/ But the problem that develops is the same one that drug addicts experience - increasing the dose more and more, trying to get the same effect they achieved early on. The fist tiny dose D of cocaine achieves result R ; a year later a 5 x D dose achieves 0.5 x R.
Show this thread -
5/ ...and so we have communists pushing Obamacare and - when it does basically nothing good - they start to push medicare for all. Pretty soon you're injecting uncut socialism between your toes, chasing that first rural electrification hit. ...but you never recapture the high
Show this thread -
6/ TLDR: declining marginal utility is a bitch.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
There are lots of coordination problems solved in creative ways by private firms (which governments also emulate). For example, offering prizes for solutions. The "X Prizes" get entrepreneurs expending their efforts in a positive direction without fronting all the capital.
-
Though I suspect that the oldest of all such motivations for solving them (fame, fortune, a prominent place in the history books, etc.) will continue to wane in the West as accomplishments by whites are downplayed. "Entrepreneuring while white" earns more scorn than praise now.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
That's what annoys me about libertarians who laugh off, "who will build the roads?" The question isn't about who will pour the asphalt. It's, "who will coordinate the purchase of land across hundreds of owners with different values along an efficient and useful path?"
-
I'm not saying only government can do it, or that it can only be done with eminent domain... but it sure won't look the same!
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.