On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:42:36 -0700, Mark & Juanita wrote:

personal freedom turned into a society of slaves to a dependency class
and government regulators.

I get ticked off by regulations from time to time. Consider this, however.
Activities which might have been benign when the population was a couple
of million suddenly become very harmful with 6 billion people running
around. I kind of like the idea of clean air and clean water. Regulations
can make things better, and keep them from getting worse.

The real "Tragedy of the Commons" was loss of regulation. The topic is
often misquoted. One pasture, everyone has a goat. Why not add a goat? It
won't make any difference. Everybody adds a goat, and the pasture is
ruined. So far so good. The "Tragedy" was that the case study was in
eastern Africa. A war or a famine (It _has_ been many years since I read
the original paper.) drove people into the area of the pasture (Somalia?
Ethiopia?). The pasture and grazing rights had been regulated by the
village elders. The refugees were of a different tribe and culture, and
didn't respect the decisions of the village elders. The incomers were the
ones who messed up the system.

When you understand the real story of the "Tragedy of the Commons," you
come to an understanding of why regulations are important and useful.

Now, I don't like bureaucrats; that's another side of the story. Recall
the faux-prison psych experiments of decades past. People who are distant
from the effects of their actions have less restraint in causing harm to
others.

Consider the notion that rights come with responsibilities. Your right to
swing your arms ends where my nose begins. Regulations are a mass
production way of keeping everybody's hands to themselves. It doesn't
always work, but just as it would be impractical (however desireable) to
have all furniture and cabinetry made the way we on the wreck like to make
them, it would be impractical to have no broad regulations in a complex
world.

What to do? Lead by example, living and working responsibly. Work to
modify silly, onerous regulations. Work to strengthen and enforce
reasonable regulations. Hang all the lawyers.


--
"Keep your ass behind you"