Government is Irrational.

[bennyboy]

I think, Koolay, that you see government as a group of power-hungry elite. The problems caused by this elite, then, could be solved by removing them. But if you see government as the process of instinct in action, you'll see that it's rooted in obvious evolutionary advantage, and will pop up wherever those instincts exist. So long, for example, as fit men can provide for the potential offspring of fit women, there will be a behavioral interchange between them. As soon as language is involved, and that language is used to define the way behaviors can go down, and rules for enforcing that behavior, then government has been born. The problem with very big government (like that of the US) is mainly that each individual has a 1-in-300-million voice-- i.e. no noticeable voice when it comes to establishing rules or determining how they are enforced; for alpha-male types who never get to actually act like alphas, there is going to be a lot of discomfort (and a likely prison term). The real problem isn't the government, though-- it's the fact that you are in a social contract consisting of a truly staggering number of people, and have as much power as an individual salmon in a spawning river. This feels dehumanizing sometimes.

But that doesn't matter. You still get to establish a microarchy in your home to a degree. So long as your government doesn't harm your ability to reproduce, to get food, to provide shelter for your mate, etc. then you're okay. America is close to the point where too many feel this basic environment is lacking, and revolution is therefore increasingly likely IMO. But if a revolution succeeds, it's not going to lead to anything resembling anarchy.