Government is Irrational.

[bennyboy]

I think your thesis is flawed, because you are judging the actions of the government on 1) what's best for the average Joe; 2) what the politicians in the government SAY they are attempting to achieve.

Epic logic fail, IMO. The truth is that the government are acting rationally as selfish human beings, with their goals being wealth, power, and some kind of permanent legacy (i.e. they get their names in lots of books). Many of them are succeeding wildly, beyond their education, their class, and their ability to contribute to the society. If you want a different kind of government, you will have to find a way to make power and money unworth the risk of getting them. Good luck with that.

As for no government-- that's just semantics. No such thing is possible, because as soon as you pull out a shotgun and say, "Get off my lawn, commie," you've established a local government of your own. The same goes for the gang that shows up at your door once the police are disbanded, rapes your wife, steals your food, and kills you. They've established a free-roaming government-- "Give us what we want, or die."

Have you had this happen lately? No, because there's a government, and in return for the ability to suck the society dry, they offer a service: the society (for the most part) should stay healthy enough to be WORTH sucking dry.