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comment by b_b
b_b  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What are the benefits of government that cannot be replicated?
    i genuinely think that people would do the right thing in this case.

What, exactly, makes you think that? Ever heard of Love Canal? What about Chernobyl or Three Mile Island? Exxon Valdez? These disasters all prompted new regulations without which they would have been repeated again and again. There used to be horse shit piled door high in the streets of NYC until government helped solve that problem, too. Consumers have spoken again and again. They want low prices; that is the god to which they prey.

Besides, groups of citizens banding together to decide which companies can operate where is government. Perhaps you would like a smaller, less powerful government?





Laurelai  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I dont want anyone to have any kind of coercive power over people.
mk  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I think that is a noble desire, but a disaster in practice. People exercise power over others naturally, whether or not it is part of a governing body or not. Without communal input into who has power, and how much they have, exploitation runs rampant. Government is not 'power over people' in essence. It is a chosen power over people, rather than an unchosen emergent one.

It is the nature of government that needs scrutiny, but not government itself.

Laurelai  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I think thats my point, is that any kind of structure of power in society will draw in the people who most want power. And people who just want power really shouldn't have it most of the time. This is why i believe in community consensus.
mk  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Oh, I agree communal consensus should be the ideal. But that requires a system of implementation, especially as the community scales.
Laurelai  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Well i also believe in keeping a community below a certain size and (voluntary non coercive) population control.
mk  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Sounds like a pretty heavy-handed regulation. ;p
Laurelai  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Thats why i said voluntary. Nobody should be forced to do anything like that.