Then, a response to the race horse analogy.
That analogy expresses, about as well as I've seen, your libertarian convictions. You would benefit from reading Nozick's works. There is a deep literature on the pros and cons of that approach but Nozick is a terrific, if daunting, beginning.
The basic thesis is that of the old cliche that the best government is the one that governs least, or in your case, is the "lightest". There is a phrase "the night watchman" government he uses to dramatize his notion.
en.wikipedia.org.
There are several problems with the theory:
(1) it's a very bad fit for complex, modern societies in which a functioning, stable economy is central to all activities and thus requires both governmental regulation and management (the debate is really about just how heavy the touch, not the touch itself; your horse analogy assumes that the horse is best off without any weight);
(2) it dismisses the importance of public functions such as schools, hospitals, and so on, banishing them to the private realm (Nozick explicitly disagrees with Michael Walzer on these points and, if you wish, I'll be happy to argue these points with you);
(3) it doesn't address the degree to which the extremes of the business cycle generate human pools of suffering that, if not offered some safety net provisions (to push over to the side the human concern we should all have) can quickly aggregate into political discontent and other problems;
and (4) any number of others.
I would be happy to discuss any of these points, if you wish. |
