Myth: Government Run or Funded Programs Don't Work

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A man dressed as Paul Bunyan explains why the idea that government cannot work is a myth.

Its hard to believe that someone might try to argue this point in seriousness, but it is made with surprising frequency by free market fundamentalists. Notably, is possible to point to innumerable instances where businesses and corporations have failed, but this does not seem to persuade libertarians that these institutions cannot function.

That government is sometimes ineffective or that it is often used for unethical purposes is not in dispute. Indeed, poor governmental systems are exceptionally common. Contrary to what some libertarians seem to imagine, socialists as a rule do not automatically favor any form of collective intervention regardless of costs or benefits. There are many, many more forms of undesirable government intervention than there are beneficial forms. By the same token, the number of possible socialist governments is so vast as to be totally uncountable; many more than the number of possible libertarian governments. The number of possible governments decreases on the road to anarchy the closer we get to anarcho-capitalism (or even laissez-faire).

However, claiming that individual instances of government ineffectiveness means that government programs cannot work is like saying that because there are innumerable nonfunctional variations on the engine of an automobile, it is impossible to produce different kinds of functional engines. Like most imaginable attempts at engine design, most socialist systems arent functional ones, and should be opposed with the same fervor libertarianism should be opposed. When government is ineffective, we have grounds for changing and improving it in ways supported by research, not eliminating it or reducing to an ineffective size, thereby allowing people of fewer means to go without, for example, health care, education, or clean air.

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[bbbbbbblob]

vid jams at around 1.02.

[Beingism]

@bbbbbbblob It seems to work fine for us. I think the problem may be on your end?

[enomarekim]

The scientific research has determined that in general, free markets tend to provide a much higher standard of living for everyone, and a larger middle class, than a socialist economic system. There are instances where government succeeds. There are many instances where private enterprises fail. But on average, because of simple economic principles, free markets are better at providing for people than heavily regulated markets. You always need to think about the ramifications of socialism.

[Beingism]

The scientific research has determined no such thing, and there is plenty of research to suggest that more equal societies do better.

equalitytrust [dot] org [dot] uk/

[FreeEcon]

@Beingism We can agree that just as a broken clock is right twice a day, so the government might be able to institute effective policies (see, I can use analogies too, its not that hard). But when one studies Public Choice (that is, an economic analysis of politics), you can see that when you give the government that power to, say, regulate carbon emissions, they can abuse that power by, say, making restrictions that harm small businesses in favor of rent seeking minorities.

[fringeelements]

Countries that are racially homogeneous have less innate intelligence differences within their population, resulting in lower inequality. Also, racially homogeneous neighborhoods are more trusting and have a higher sense of civic unity (google "The Downside of Diversity").

Multiracial societies fail hard, and that results in a statistical artifact of unequal societies failing, but it's not the inequality that's the problem, it's the racial / ethnic / religious diversity.

[alistairproductions]

But involuntary government is force and the tyranny of the majority against the minority.

[newexperiment]

I don't think I ever heard someone make the exact sylogism you are debunking. However a close one is A) government programs that don't work don't necessarily stop and B) government programs that exist tend to be monopolistic (since they tend to opperate without regard to efficientcy which no buisness can do) therefor C) Government programs have no mechanism to increase efficientcy, service value, or anything else and therefor D) Government programs never work well at all over the long run.

[Skyler827]

@ineptsegue Also, you always try to describe and debunk the free market in context to how it behaves in our modern american society. Our modern economy is EXTREMELY regulated! It is EXTREMELY taxed! But more importantly, the financial and currency industry are under government control in very critical ways. The Federal reserve controls the interest rates, sets the money supply, and creates boom and bust cycles. I don't have time to describe how a free market would work, compared to ours.

[Skyler827]

@ineptsegue I do not assume that wealth is distributed in a fair manner. I do not assume that humans are perfect, completely rational, or moral. I only advocate the replacement of force with directly consented contracts between individuals. All of beingism's refutations of conservativist philosophy that I've read define government as a voluntary institution, with corporations that force workers into unfair conditions and unfairly distribute wealth.

[Skyler827]

People who say that failed government programs are attacking the icing on the cake.

ALL Government is fundamentally immoral, inefficient, and tyrannical , and the numerous examples of failed government programs are extremely inefficient in demonstrating this fact. although they can prove that government programs can fail here and there, this pales in comparison to the fact that it takes property at the point of a gun, lies to its people and frauds them into thinking everyone else supports them.

[lomocan]

You can do all the "research" you want, you'll never find a gov made up of angels & that's the problem, no matter what kind of gov you'll've, people who make their way into gov are almost invariably people who want power over their fellow men & want to make money thru politics & such people can NEVER be trusted to do anything for others that's why Founding Fathers had the foresight to stand for SMALL gov

The two enemies of the people are criminals and government --- Thomas Jefferson

[lomocan]

You're oblivious to the fact that when business profit or fail, both are actually helpful in a free market because you don't want sick businesses around, but whether a gov program succeeds or fails, taxpayers suffer anyway, socialism is really an ideology of violence when you consider that gov COERCES you pay for someone else or for a cause you don't support, otherwise I'll be prosecuted, in socialist society, individual is basically the property of the state to loot & plunder.

[JFKEQUALS911]

@ineptsegue i did