Legislated cooperation
April 7th, 2009 | Published in Economics idea | 1 Comment
While freedom is nice, there are many situations where it really helps to follow rules. For example, imagine the chaos and carnage that would result on roads if there were no traffic rules. Imagine what big cities would look like if there were no zoning laws. Imagine a country without law and order.
For large groups of people to coexist peacefully and productively, lots of rules and regulations are needed. For rules and regulations to have meaning, there have to be consequences for breaking them. One of the primary roles of government is to create and enforce rules that support a productive society.
Good rules:
- have unambiguous benefits,
- are simple,
- are easily enforced,
- and fit in well with the values people hold.
Bad rules:
- are arbitrary,
- are difficult to understand,
- deliver benefits unevenly,
- or conflict with the beliefs of many people.
While it makes sense to fight bad rules and regulations, we should embrace good rules. Freedom isn’t an end in itself. Cooperation is a good thing. Rules and regulations are the mechanisms that allow large groups of people to cooperate.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:23 pm (#)
Speaking of traffic rules, I hate being stopped at a red light when there is no traffic in the other direction. I regularly fume at the inefficiency of making people wait at red lights or stop at stop signs when they didn’t need to.
I will take some solace from now on in thinking about how the system of traffic rules results in much greater efficiency overall.
Eric