Conflict or Cooperation

This article by Walter E. Williams looks at Big Government in a way that most of us haven't thought of. Looking at political decision-making as a zero sum game, you cannot give to one without taking away from another. Whereas in a free society, businesses gravitate to the needs and wants of all. In the case of government deciding what education, health care etc. you get, conflict arises because someone does not get what he feels he is entitled to. Government decides, someone loses. Free market decides, people cooperate, conflict is avoided.

Excerpt: These people fail to recognize or even wonder why our nation, with people of every race, ethnic group and religious group, has managed to live together relatively harmoniously. In their countries of origin, the same ethnic, racial and religious groups have been trying to slaughter one another for centuries.

A good part of the answer is that in the United States, there was little to be gained from being a Frenchman, a German, a Jew, a Protestant or a Catholic. The reason it did not pay was because for most of our history, government played a small part in our lives. When there’s significant government allocation of resources, the most effective means of organizing for the gains are those proven most divisive, such as race, ethnicity, religion and region.

As our nation forsakes our founders’ wisdom of constitutional limitations placed on Washington, we raise the potential for conflict. Read article here.