In this election season, we hear phrases like this one all too often: "I just want the government out of my business" (or out of my life, school, wallet, etc.) This is an understandable attitude that reflects a natural desire for independence and autonomy. The thought is: just leave me and my money alone and I'll take care of my own business. I don't want you imposing your rules, regulations or morals on me. I will live my life, raise my children and conduct my business as I see fit. I understand the social contract that says my rights end at the edge of my property, but within my property, they are sovereign and I won't allow them to be infringed upon.
What I would like to suggest is that our ability to take this attitude is something we should be profoundly grateful for. And we should think twice before we say that we wish to exorcise the government from all our affairs. Be careful what you wish for!
What is it that we take for granted? We have all grown up with a certain phrase ringing in our ears. For people of my generation, it's most likely the voice of Fred Flintstone that we hear in our heads: "A Man's Home is his Castle!" Many of us take completely for granted the unassailable proprietorship we exercise over our domain. We take for granted that when somebody trespasses on our turf, the police are just a phone call away. When somebody tries to usurp our land, we have full legal recourse no matter how rich, powerful or well-connected the usurper may be. I hardly need to mention that the police force that protects us, the property laws we rely on, and the court system that is there when we need it are, of course, functions of government.
Here's another example. Suppose you want to make an addition to your house. If you have not mastered the trades of the carpenter, the plumber and the electrician, and you want your addition to be well-built and functional, you will probably hire a contractor to do the work. If you are wise, you will draw up a document that spells out exactly what the contractor will provide and how much you will pay for those services. This contract is a legal document that protects both parties in case one of them tries to cheat the other. The ability to enforce this contract through legal means is one of those boring things that we take for granted. But the prosperity, and indeed the very existence, of our nation literally rest on the bedrock foundation of these property and contract rights and the legal structures that uphold and enforce them.
There are countries, notably in Africa, where it is all but impossible to build a business that will be able to thrive and grow. This is often because there is no functioning legal infrastructure in place to protect and enforce property rights or contracts enacted between parties. Usually there is rampant corruption which saps the resources of anyone trying to build a business. To give a concrete example, Nigeria, a country with abundant natural resources, is nevertheless mired in the most abject poverty imaginable exactly because of this lack of a legal framework and inability of the government to enforce its own laws -- due mostly to total corruption at every level. In fact, government jobs are highly prized as political favors in countries like Nigeria simply because of the extra sums of money each official is able to extort from people seeking whatever favor the official is in a position to provide. This is one of the primary contributors to the poverty of the nation.
Astute, critically thinking readers will be quick to point out anecdotal examples from our country of corrupt judges and law enforcement; examples of government overreaching and wastefulness; examples of the abuse of eminent domain and undue influence by the rich, powerful, and well-connected. We all have heard and read about this sort of thing, and are perfectly right in deploring those abuses. But we should also view them in their proper context: as anomalies that stand out against the background of normal, proper functioning of our systems. If it were not so, they would cease to be considered an outrage, and become just so many shruggable happenings to be endured as a part of normal daily life.
So the next time you set out to revile the government and cast it out of your life, your house, your wallet, your school, or whatever other thing you feel you are powerful enough to maintain all by yourself against every other thing in the wide world that wants to take it from you, make sure you add the phrase: "Just don't go too far away."
What I would like to suggest is that our ability to take this attitude is something we should be profoundly grateful for. And we should think twice before we say that we wish to exorcise the government from all our affairs. Be careful what you wish for!
What is it that we take for granted? We have all grown up with a certain phrase ringing in our ears. For people of my generation, it's most likely the voice of Fred Flintstone that we hear in our heads: "A Man's Home is his Castle!" Many of us take completely for granted the unassailable proprietorship we exercise over our domain. We take for granted that when somebody trespasses on our turf, the police are just a phone call away. When somebody tries to usurp our land, we have full legal recourse no matter how rich, powerful or well-connected the usurper may be. I hardly need to mention that the police force that protects us, the property laws we rely on, and the court system that is there when we need it are, of course, functions of government.
Here's another example. Suppose you want to make an addition to your house. If you have not mastered the trades of the carpenter, the plumber and the electrician, and you want your addition to be well-built and functional, you will probably hire a contractor to do the work. If you are wise, you will draw up a document that spells out exactly what the contractor will provide and how much you will pay for those services. This contract is a legal document that protects both parties in case one of them tries to cheat the other. The ability to enforce this contract through legal means is one of those boring things that we take for granted. But the prosperity, and indeed the very existence, of our nation literally rest on the bedrock foundation of these property and contract rights and the legal structures that uphold and enforce them.
There are countries, notably in Africa, where it is all but impossible to build a business that will be able to thrive and grow. This is often because there is no functioning legal infrastructure in place to protect and enforce property rights or contracts enacted between parties. Usually there is rampant corruption which saps the resources of anyone trying to build a business. To give a concrete example, Nigeria, a country with abundant natural resources, is nevertheless mired in the most abject poverty imaginable exactly because of this lack of a legal framework and inability of the government to enforce its own laws -- due mostly to total corruption at every level. In fact, government jobs are highly prized as political favors in countries like Nigeria simply because of the extra sums of money each official is able to extort from people seeking whatever favor the official is in a position to provide. This is one of the primary contributors to the poverty of the nation.
Astute, critically thinking readers will be quick to point out anecdotal examples from our country of corrupt judges and law enforcement; examples of government overreaching and wastefulness; examples of the abuse of eminent domain and undue influence by the rich, powerful, and well-connected. We all have heard and read about this sort of thing, and are perfectly right in deploring those abuses. But we should also view them in their proper context: as anomalies that stand out against the background of normal, proper functioning of our systems. If it were not so, they would cease to be considered an outrage, and become just so many shruggable happenings to be endured as a part of normal daily life.
So the next time you set out to revile the government and cast it out of your life, your house, your wallet, your school, or whatever other thing you feel you are powerful enough to maintain all by yourself against every other thing in the wide world that wants to take it from you, make sure you add the phrase: "Just don't go too far away."
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