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b_b · 4598 days ago · link · · parent · post: What are the benefits of government that cannot be replicated?
I think that some large scale social problems can only be tackled by government(s). For example, you don't ever hear about the harm of acid rain or CFCs any more. Both of these environmental problems were not just lessened, but pretty much solved by treaty and enforcement. Neither of these would be possible without governments. I think in the best case scenario a good government is like a good umpire in baseball, where the strike zone is defined by good, sensible regulations. The government sets the strike zone and then calls the game in a way that makes it fairest for the maximum number of people. When good regulation is absent, things like the derivative market occur (I'm begging you guys to watch this Frontline piece).
I think that environmental concerns can be addressed by consensus of the people, after all it was the people who forced the governments hands on said regulations, while all the time they had been dragging their heels. If anything the government slowed down solving that problem.
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I strongly disagree. No matter how many people dislike sulfuric acid in the atmosphere, no manufacturer will filter the sulfates out of their waste until they are forced to do so by law. In my experience working for a couple different manufacturers, I can tell you than every (good) company wants to follow the law, but they aren't going to cost themselves money by going above and beyond. Share price/Profits > Public opinion.
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Well heres the thing, due to the inherent and deep connections between government and business and how much legal authority and power businesses have in various fields they can really be considered a defacto arm of the government in the US, I was going to get into this point in a later posting but when capitalism and government get in bed together the results can be disastrous. Nobody should have that much power. If a manufacturer isnt allowed to operate in your local community unless they are environmentally sound ( a decision reached by community consensus) they are going to have a hard time making profits period since nobody will want them around if they wont give people what they want. Perhaps im just being idealistic here but i genuinely think that people would do the right thing in this case.
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- 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?
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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.
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