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The Capital District chapter of the Libertarian Party of New York works to further Libertarian goals in and near Albany. Like all Libertarians, those of us located in the Capital District recognize the danger that government can pose to individual liberty and democracy. Libertarians recognize that a free market more accurately reflects the wishes of free people than any alternative. Thus, any alternative - such as government imposed laws - runs counter to the wishes of people and subverts the principles of liberty and democracy. Why should free people be forced to do things against their will? To the degree they are so forced (regulated) they become less free. There are some who maintain the free market fails people. Government, being ‘by the people, of the people and for the people’, can correct inequities which harm the common good and operate counter to ‘the public interest’, they tell us. So, they seek to regulate the market to benefit that common good. Prohibition was a classic example of regulating for ‘the common good’. Back then the Constitution was still respected so the well intentioned, who knew what was good for us, organized the passage of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. Subsequently, no matter what was done to stop the sale of alcohol, the people ignored the law and kept on buying and consuming alcohol. The unintended consequences of those well intentioned people saw organized crime, violence, and corruption join with alcoholism. And the rest is history. Good intentions turned to terrible results. The Amendment was repealed. Instead of prohibiting the sale and consumption of it, the those who knew what was good for us decided to tax alcohol - again for the common good - and no amendment was required. Those who know what is good for us also learned the Constitution need not be amended if it can be interpreted instead. Our new Constitutional interpretations have extended federal regulation vastly beyond what existed during Prohibition. All of us have become resources of the state and those who interpret the common good. Our Constitution has been interpreted to something opposite its original intent. Not only our alcohol habits, but all behavior is now subject to someone else’s interpretation of the common good. Hardy anything is not regulated by the federal government in the name of the public interest. Hardly anything in not taxed for the public good. It is as if good did not exist before taxation and regulation. So what is the common good? Who can point to the public interest? Who can identify ‘the public’? Can the public read this message? Does the public smoke or drink? Does the public pay or benefit from taxes or regulation? Of course is doesn’t. Only individuals can read and pay and benefit. Regulation simply decides which individuals get to benefit and which individuals must pay the cost. Thus, government - every government - is simply a tool of some individuals to use against other individuals. If we designed a car for the public as we design laws for the public, what shape or color would it be? If green were 'the public' color, what would yellow be - invisible?, undesirable?, anti-social?, criminal? Regulation forces people to adjust. If it were otherwise, regulations would have no purpose and not exist. Regulations make you do things you would not want to do if you were free. An unregulated market knows exactly what color a car should be. All colors would be as valid as the people who choose them. It knows when people want green cars and when they want yellow or blue, how many and how big. It does not need to regulate people to buy a color they do not want. People voluntarily choose exactly what they want and when they want it. The free market adjusts to the desires of free people. The people need not attend board meetings, plead with management, or send political contributions to elect a different CEO. What can be more democratic? Libertarians accept that perfection and utopia can not exist. In the real world free enterprise benefits more people more often and has fewer failings than regulated markets. Regulated markets - government control - leads to unintended consequences instead of the intended utopia. You don't have to look far to recognize this. Public schools, more than any other government agency, are accessible, used and relied on by 'the people'. So consider you local schools, right here in the Capital District. If your local schools are an example of 'government by and for the people' then we must accept that the people want expensive under-performing schools. If we do not accept this notion, if we the people are not served, then who is served in the name of the 'common good'? If "We the People" are irrelevant to local government how can we expect to be more relevant to a much more powerful government in distant Washington? |