kfl@AI.AI.MIT.EDU (01/20/87)
From: Willie Lim <WLIM@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU>
Is it possible for a libertarian government to be incompetent or
corrupt or engage in illegal activities?
I would imagine so. Less so than the present system, since it
would not be in the power of a legislator to enact special interest
legislation. For instance there couldn't be any water projects to
vote for, since all water projects would be privately owned and
developed. There wouldn't be any tax breaks to give to a favored
industry since there would be no taxes. There couldn't be any
exception to the narcotics laws for a particular drug, since all
drugs would already be legal.
If so how can it be held accountable? Through the courts?
The ballot boxes?
Yes to both.
...Keith
-------WLIM@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU (01/20/87)
The courts and the ballot boxes are not effective enough for making government (in general) accountable. Take for example Marcos who "lost" an election and still has a lot of money which is badly needed in the Philippines. A whole country suffers while the court proceedings drag on. The assumption in using the ballot boxes is that the government official involved wants to be re-elected. If he/she knows that the punishment for some corrupt action which results in making him/her rich is just not to get re-elected, that is a small price to pay for the ill-gotten wealth. The case for the courts are stronger but someone still has to incur the cost (in dollars and in time) of bringing the crook to court before any settlement can be reached. Actually there might be another way to make government better without enforcing a strict accountability system---competition among governments for your skill (there was a write up along this line in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago). If the government of a country wants your skill badly enough, they would do things to induce you to migrate to that country. But this can get complicated. For example low tax rates can be thought of as a way for inducing migration to a state (New Hampshire) from another state (Massachusetts). This inducement is effective only if all other things are considered equal e.g. both states have equally good universities, hospitals, industries, entertainment facilities, airports, etc. Many people in the high-tech industries in Massachusetts at one time or another have consider taking up residence in NH but somehow the tax incentives don't seem to be big enough to cause many of us to leave Massachusetts for NH. But the idea of a "free-market of governments" is fascinating. Willie ------- -------