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Besides externalized costs, which is gigantic issue that is not easy to solve. These problems are also clear market failures: Large scale goals with large publ

Besides externalized costs, which is gigantic issue that is not easy to solve. These problems are also clear market failures: Large scale goals with large public benefits but which come at high costs will not be achieved without high level cooperation. For every individual market participant, the public education system, the public highway system, the public energy system, etc. have costs far exceeding their means. Yet every market participant benefits enough that they are happy they exist. The level of cooperation needed requires organization at the scale of at least local government. Dealing with external factors, such as other nations -especially if they're hostile- or natural threats. Individual market participants can not muster armies (unless they are at the scale of governments), cant bargain with foreign governments on equal terms and will not provide (preventive) care for disasters/diseasese/etc. Would microsoft or walmart vaccinate everyone?

wyager 9y ago
I had a longer response written out, but my phone browser crashed and I have to go soon. This will be brief. > externalized costs Coase theorem and strong trespass law. > Large scale goals with large public benefits but which come at high costs Assurance contracts. > public education system, Private schools perform better across the board. If public schools didn't exist, I would expect to see more parochial and charity schools. > public highway system Replacing the IH system with privately operated toll roads is well within the reach of US investment banks, and it would be a safe bet. Plus they would be incentivized to actually do repairs quickly, unlike on public roads. Wins all around! > public energy system, Sure, this is a hard good to privatize due to line easement requirements. There are ways around this, but I think practically libertarians would agree with the government managing things like water pipes or electrical lines. This will become less of an issue in the near future as being off-grid on solar becomes practical for more people. (Or if we end up with small-scale community nuclear, like some are working towards.) > Yet every market participant benefits enough that they are happy they exist. If you think they'll still be happy after being made aware of how much they're paying (instead of it being obfuscated via taxes and respending) then there's no problem. > armies PMCs and military insurance. This would almost certainly be more efficient than the current bloated military we have in the US. > disasters/disease Insurance again. > Would microsoft or walmart vaccinate everyone? Does the government vaccinate everyone now? (No, they do not.)

wyager 9y ago

I had a longer response written out, but my phone browser crashed and I have to go soon. This will be brief. > externalized costs Coase theorem and strong trespass law. > Large scale goals with large public benefits but which come at high costs Assurance contracts. > public education system, Private schools perform better across the board. If public schools didn't exist, I would expect to see more parochial and charity schools. > public highway system Replacing the IH system with privately operated toll roads is well within the reach of US investment banks, and it would be a safe bet. Plus they would be incentivized to actually do repairs quickly, unlike on public roads. Wins all around! > public energy system, Sure, this is a hard good to privatize due to line easement requirements. There are ways around this, but I think practically libertarians would agree with the government managing things like water pipes or electrical lines. This will become less of an issue in the near future as being off-grid on solar becomes practical for more people. (Or if we end up with small-scale community nuclear, like some are working towards.) > Yet every market participant benefits enough that they are happy they exist. If you think they'll still be happy after being made aware of how much they're paying (instead of it being obfuscated via taxes and respending) then there's no problem. > armies PMCs and military insurance. This would almost certainly be more efficient than the current bloated military we have in the US. > disasters/disease Insurance again. > Would microsoft or walmart vaccinate everyone? Does the government vaccinate everyone now? (No, they do not.)