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To: Cogito Ergo Sum who wrote (106970)	1/20/2010 7:55:32 PM
From: Joe Btfsplk	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Lot of years since I read him, but Mancur Olson made interesting points over why ever accumulating insults cause nations to eventually stagnate or fail. A taste from Wiki: In 1982, he expanded the scope of his earlier work in an attempt to explain The Rise and Decline of Nations . The idea is that small distributional coalitions tend to form over time in countries. Groups like cotton-farmers, steel-producers, and labor unions will have the incentives to form political lobbies and influence policies in their favor. These policies will tend to be protectionist and anti-technology, and will therefore hurt economic growth; but since the benefits of these policies are selective incentives concentrated amongst the few coalitions members, while the costs are diffused throughout the whole population, the "Logic" dictates that there will be little public resistance to them. Hence as time goes on, and these distributional coalitions accumulate in greater and greater numbers, the nation burdened by them will fall into economic decline. Olson's idea is cited as an influence behind the Calmfors-Driffill hypothesis of collective bargaining.

To: Cogito Ergo Sum who wrote (106970)	1/20/2010 10:57:27 PM
From: Skeeter Bug	Respond to of 116555

>>Yes a fascinating topic.. the importance of the public good.. which itself can be perverted.. You are right IMO.. Look @ communism.. it just deprived folks even more and concentrated what was left in the hands of even fewer than democratic systems.. Churhill was right.. problem is folks failed to see just how corrupt even democracy could be made.. Are we doomed by our genes ?<< yes, that is THE over riding message of the bible. the good news is there is great hope for divine intervention and eternity looks to be good as the willing get character make overs (will learn to care about others EQUAL - not more, not less - to ourselves). the bad news is we have a whole lot of physical reaping to do due to our pretty sour sowing before that happens. hold on tight.