Checksum Arcanius

While debating politial things with Erik of Freedomdown.net the other day, I made some incorrect assumptions. A transcript (minor edits for clarity) may illustrate this point:
Read the rest of this entry »

From makri of worth1000.com

In response to Erik’s response to my response to his response to my response to an article in the American Spectator…
Erik states, “If the individuals are motivated to do the right thing withen the company it will as well.”

Wrong.

I think its one of the most wonderful and disturbing things about the advent of modern economics. The aggregate is often not the sum of its parts. Take, for example, this most oft-quoted phrase from Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” This is the essence of the “invisible hand” that turns self interst into the best option for the group as a whole. Its not immediately obvious (it tok until 1776 to figure it out, after all), but the general interst being served by everyone looking out for him or herself is the actual effect.

The same thing goes for groups founded in the name of the “public interest.” Even if every person in the group is working towards some greater ideal, the result is quite often less than stellar. Countless socialist regimes, and the incredible failure of social programs in this country as well should testify to that.

The real problem here is that most people in this world don’t understand economics because the teacher’s union (that “public interst” group) knows that a society well-versed in economics would be detremental to their monopoly over education in this country. Cynicism is well in order. Thank you very much.

Erik, of Freedomdown.net asks:
“Is it really that hard to imagine that people sometimes just do things because they are the right thing to do?”

And I respond (it was a comment, but it got way too long):

No, it is not hard to believe that, because this is often why people do things. I made no claim to the contrary. What I do believe is that, when you take the aggregate of what the CIA does, it is not “the right thing.” So where does this behavior arise from, when there are, no doubt, many people in that organization trying to do the right thing – trying to protect us from terrorism; trying to save lives; trying to make the world a better place – not because it is neccesarily in their immediate self interest, but because it is the right thing to do?

And the answer I always arrive at is that there is another motivation that drives the organization as a whole that is different than what drives most individuals. And, from the way I understand incentives, the thing that makes successful government bureacracies is far different than what makes a successful corporation (ie, pleasing the customers). The primary driving incentive for government bureacracies – and this is no fault of their own; it is an effect of the system – is to increase their size and stature in the system. No other goal, as an organization serves everyone in the organization. Individuals may be strongly motivated to do the right thing, but the organization rarely is. And from the track record of the CIA, I would doubt that it has, as an organization, always had the best motivations.

Conprendez-vous?

If you are in the mood for a thought-provoking read, check out this article from the American Spectator (text copied in “more” text below, in case of link rot).

My take on it is that the CIA is just like every other government bureaucracy. By this I mean that its underlying motivation is not to do its job – ie, gather intelligence – rather, its primary motivation – as a whole – is to keep itself alive. The most effective way to do this, for any bureaucracy, is to grow itself so large and integrate itself into the system so well that removing it would be unthinkable.

The CIA, just like countless other government bureaucracies, is well suited to this task, and as a byproduct is not very well suited to any other task. In fact, the CIA carries out “intelligence” only so far as is necessary to accomplish its real goal. And the sad fact is, the worse the CIA does its job, the better their real agenda is served. After all, intelligence failures lead to commissions that suggest even more government and even more bureaucracy. As I said before, the CIA is not alone in this regard. The worse social programs do at actually alleviating social problems, the more money will be put into those social programs. The worse public schools do, the more money will be put into public schools. These and other institutions become excellent at doing just well enough to appear to be useful, while ensuring that they do poorly enough to require more money to expand their bureaucracy, further entrenching their ultimate goal.

This “ultimate goal” I am speaking of is rarely, if ever, the goal of any person in the organization. But it becomes the focus of the group’s efforts, because it is the only goal that serves everyone’s purposes in the organization – namely, job security, social advancement, political influence, or other wealth, power, or personal goals. Everyone’s agenda in the bureaucracy is promoted by the expansion of the bureaucracy, so the bureaucracy, if it is successful, ends up expanding. It is economics at is best and worst.

These programs – created usually by high-minded ideals that put the group above the individual – end up having the most perverse effect of all – namely, the exact opposite of the intended effect. That is, the group is hurt more than before, and the individual is demeaned instead of uplifted, as the idealists imagined would happen. Such is the way of all socialist programs, and that is what all of these programs are. They are an insidious cancer that eats away at society until it crumbles, just as every civilization before has, and just as every civilization to follow likely will.

In short, when freedom is hedged in favor or equality, social justice, or some ethereal greater good:

1. The good rarely is seen, or if seen it is fleeting.
2. The freedom is forever lost
3. A new bureaucracy is born or an existing bureaucracy is expanded

I believe that people have proven time and again that they will come together to serve the greater good, when it is necessary to do so. No coercion is needed for this to happen. And if a people is unwilling to come together for the greater good, then it is time for that people to waste away. I believe that government expansion only dulls this sense of duty to fellow mankind – after all, its not my war to fight. Its the government’s. What attitude could be worse?

Read the rest of this entry »

A huge shout out to Erik, of FreedomDown.net for a link to an article on Slashdot, where Libertarian Presidential candidate Michael Badnarik tells us all what’s up.

Seriously, how can anyone doubt that this is the best way to run things?

“Politics, in my view, should be as unimportant as possible — but where it’s important, it has to value freedom, remain rooted in principle and be forward-looking.”
–Michael Badnarik

I did.

Its amazing how good I felt about myself after choosing, finally, to vote libertarian in this primary election. Now the ballot is filled out and in the mail – gotta love the absentee system. I took a picure of both sides of the ballot just for fun too.

Voting with a free conscience is a great gift. I pity all the republicans and democrats who can’t do that because, as I explained cheerily to the rest of my family, the political landscape is like a slope descending on one side into the water. The democrats pull down and to the left; the republicans pull down and to the right. Their combined effort takes us straight towards the water. Alone, the democrats and republicans would still each take us underwater (financially as well of other metaphorical ways). Only the libertarians pull our government away from drowning all of us (greens, in case you are wondering, dig down and to the left. Their lpolicies will lead to not only drowning, but dronwing in filthy mud, probably among our own waste as well.

Vote Libertarian. You won’t regret it.