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> Private institutions have no incentives to serve the greater good of the country. What are the incentives for government to serve the greater good of the cou

> Private institutions have no incentives to serve the greater good of the country. What are the incentives for government to serve the greater good of the country, specifically, why should government be uniquely qualified to decide what is good for everyone. As the old joke goes, "democracy is the belief that the people know what they want, and they deserve to get it, good and hard". But nobody in the world really lives in a democracy, it's even worse! There's indirection. To believe that governments are qualified to serve the "greater good" is to believe that people are qualified to select people who are good at judging the greater good. And that's not even counting the next layer of indirection. You're really hoping people are qualified to select people (politicians) that select people (unelected bureaucrats) that know what the greater good is. There are many, many cases, when private enterprise (often, but not exclusively, for-profits operating in a nonprofit/goodwill capacity) has been the most effective responder in national emergencies, for example Walmart immediately providing tons of supplies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. There is a wide window of human activity between a selfish money grubbing capitalist firm, and the government.

pbourke 7y ago
> What are the incentives for government to serve the greater good of the country "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, >promote the general Welfare<, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." > why should government be uniquely qualified to decide what is good for everyone The government is uniquely qualified to be the actor of last or only resort in a number of situations. > There are many, many cases, when private enterprise (often, but not exclusively, for-profits operating in a nonprofit/goodwill capacity) has been the most effective responder in national emergencies, for example Walmart immediately providing tons of supplies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Indeed we all remember when Walmart's convoy of soldiers arrived at the Superdome to finally open a supply line to the thousands that sheltered there. Or when Walmart's sailors airlifted or floated out 33,000 citizens stranded in floodwaters.
- dnautics 7y ago
  "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Man! If every organization held true to its founding ideals. do no evil, or heck, March of Dimes. You know, that document you cite also has a list of ten amendments, of which I know zero have been held to over 200 years. That's right, even the US has violated the 3rd amendment by quartering soldiers in warzones, for example Afghanistan, and even WWII (the amendment does not specify homes of citizens). Do you think the US follows this clause of the constitution? Did you even know it was there? "In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law." Forgive me if your assertion that the least binding part of a legal document that has brooked all sorts of breaches to its principles holds very little confidence. > why should government be uniquely qualified to decide what is good for everyone. > The government is uniquely qualified to be the actor of last or only resort in a number of situations. You're begging the question.
  - pbourke 7y ago
    You asked “What are the incentives for government to serve the greater good of the country“ and I gave you an answer: it’s the reason why governments were created. Are they perfect? No. Can they be entirely replaced by the private sector? No.
    - dnautics 7y ago
      If you really believe that governments were created "for the greater good of their people", I strongly suggest you review the entirety of human history. I'm not religious, but the hebrew bible has a really fascinating parable (1 samuel 16) about the israelites wanting "a king" (and importantly, describing there motivations for such) and god begrudgingly granting their wish with a warning for what was to come. Governments serving their people is a very modern and very imperfect concept. I would argue we're not there yet.

pbourke 7y ago

> What are the incentives for government to serve the greater good of the country "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, >promote the general Welfare<, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." > why should government be uniquely qualified to decide what is good for everyone The government is uniquely qualified to be the actor of last or only resort in a number of situations. > There are many, many cases, when private enterprise (often, but not exclusively, for-profits operating in a nonprofit/goodwill capacity) has been the most effective responder in national emergencies, for example Walmart immediately providing tons of supplies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Indeed we all remember when Walmart's convoy of soldiers arrived at the Superdome to finally open a supply line to the thousands that sheltered there. Or when Walmart's sailors airlifted or floated out 33,000 citizens stranded in floodwaters.

dnautics 7y ago
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Man! If every organization held true to its founding ideals. do no evil, or heck, March of Dimes. You know, that document you cite also has a list of ten amendments, of which I know zero have been held to over 200 years. That's right, even the US has violated the 3rd amendment by quartering soldiers in warzones, for example Afghanistan, and even WWII (the amendment does not specify homes of citizens). Do you think the US follows this clause of the constitution? Did you even know it was there? "In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law." Forgive me if your assertion that the least binding part of a legal document that has brooked all sorts of breaches to its principles holds very little confidence. > why should government be uniquely qualified to decide what is good for everyone. > The government is uniquely qualified to be the actor of last or only resort in a number of situations. You're begging the question.
- pbourke 7y ago
  You asked “What are the incentives for government to serve the greater good of the country“ and I gave you an answer: it’s the reason why governments were created. Are they perfect? No. Can they be entirely replaced by the private sector? No.
  - dnautics 7y ago
    If you really believe that governments were created "for the greater good of their people", I strongly suggest you review the entirety of human history. I'm not religious, but the hebrew bible has a really fascinating parable (1 samuel 16) about the israelites wanting "a king" (and importantly, describing there motivations for such) and god begrudgingly granting their wish with a warning for what was to come. Governments serving their people is a very modern and very imperfect concept. I would argue we're not there yet.