tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post4997151521544543877..comments2024-03-18T19:36:10.480-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: One Cheer MoreAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-36482904124857505482014-08-20T23:49:37.698-04:002014-08-20T23:49:37.698-04:00I started wearing seat belts in '69 when I bou...I started wearing seat belts in '69 when I bought a car that had them (they were rolled up behind the seat at the floor bolts). I put in bigger belt with 2 shoulder straps because it was a sports car, and I'd read that I'd have better control of the car if I were fixed in the seat. (Race cars had seat belts.)<br /><br />For all the rest, yeah...Sam L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00996809377798862214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-61451279305792038882014-08-20T20:36:14.895-04:002014-08-20T20:36:14.895-04:00Yes, there are human problems like national defens...Yes, there are human problems like national defense and epidemics that require fast, expert coordination of large groups who hadn't previously self-identified and joined up. And a similar problem is presented by very high density living arrangements, where things can reach a tipping point very fast, perhaps too fast for informal voluntary arrangements to be able to respond to an emergency.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-610538698483618482014-08-20T18:47:30.581-04:002014-08-20T18:47:30.581-04:00And there's the complexity added when you live...And there's the complexity added when you live in dense cities. In the country we can all have a big leaf bonfire and nobody cares, in the burbs nothing gets hurt if everybody on the block starts up a fire pit, but if everybody on a city block does the smoke and crowding get to be hazardous. Since courtesy seems to be reduced in big groups, people require lots of laws, sometimes micromanaging laws, to handle the problems resulting from density and lack of courtesy.<br /><br />That's my model for why our bigger cities tend to be run by statists.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-15351461275284111892014-08-20T11:41:03.815-04:002014-08-20T11:41:03.815-04:00I'm probably unusually far down the scale towa...I'm probably unusually far down the scale towards libertarianism, but that's not to say that I don't acknowledge a useful role for government. It's really more a question of insisting that we think through whether each situation is best resolved with maximum uniformity backed up by force. Lots of social problems aren't, in my view. On the other hand, when you've got one that is, you really need that maximum uniformity backed up by force.<br /><br />But it's tricky enough to tell where that line should be drawn if you're aware of the hard trade-offs. It's almost impossible if your philosophy is that everything that's not unbridled individualism must be government. In fact, of course, there are many excellent ways to create public interpersonal order and safety and prosperity via voluntary institutions--and the more of them there are, in good functioning order, the less government we need.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.com