Dear Ernest,

   This is my Second Declaration of Independence with Ernest Hancock. It is about why intervention is necessary.

    The issue of government coming in between two discriminating racists is the easiest subject to understand because it is plain commonsense.  And yet I see a war of disagreement raging on. In civilized world, government “intervention” is essential to human survival.

     But a racist hates government “intervention” for the survival of both disagreeing racists, when stopped by Government from practicing discrimination.  If there is no “intervention”, opposing racists will eliminate each other. That’s as sure as the sun rises from the East.

     In the Animal Kingdom, we are the only animals with reason.  But in the competitive world we live in, we use this reason first for our own individual survival, more so when the survival of others is our demise.

    Without “regulatory intervention” in a laissez-faire situation where you do it your way and I do it my way if we do not agree on a compromise, is the law of the Caveman.  The individual caveman or cavewoman is free to do whatever he/she likes – there is no government “intervention” to stop anyone from doing whatever he/she wants to do. This is how the Libertarian philosophy stands – let the individual decide and be the master of his/her own fate – no Government is needed, and no government intervention is necessary.

     That’s only true in a dream world.  It does not and could not happen in real life. Humans with their own individual thinking on almost everything under the sun only agree most of the time if not all the time to disagree. But in the real world, individual freedom is neither pure nor absolute – you cannot do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want – plain commonsense why you can’t.

     That it is your own property or business to do whatever, whenever, wherever you want is no excuse at all once the exercise of your ownership involves the public or involves public interest. You can do your thing in the privacy of your home if you are not harming anyone, without any interference whatsoever, otherwise if you do business with the public of what you own, you need a license to operate your public undertaking.

      For the interest or protection and safety of the public, you have to be regulated. The Government looks over your shoulder to see to it that you don’t harm or injure others. For protection purposes, that’s what Government is created for. We created the Government not to check the good but only the bad and the ugly that they may do no harm. In a disorderly world, Government is ORDER.

     Don’t ever think that the licensing bureau wants to steal your freedom, or covets and robs you of your business or wants to stop you unless you pay a bribe [licensing fee].  Only morons think that way.

      Even “compromise” is a form of “intervention” in the exercise of what is falsely perceived as “absolute individual freedom” [or what it purports to be].  It is a form of ORDER, where authority is an agreement. It restores ORDER where disorder reigns.

     Going back to the Caveman scenario: Let’s assume for the sake of argument, that the world [the cave], is inhabited only by the caveman and cavewoman in this true-to-life analogy. To share the cave for security reason and reason for survival, these free individuals must agree on a certain “compromise” and depend on each other.  Here we can immediately notice that “compromise” takes away a part each of their individual freedom, like what the Government does to establish ORDER.  The individual freedom each one has is no longer pure or absolute if they give a bit of what they have to each other to come to a “compromise”.

    The scenario changes and becomes clearer once they cannot or do not enter into a “compromise”. One just have to leave the cave or gets eliminated. Only the strong one or the dominant one will survive or remain in the cave.

     That’s how Government evolves. The weak has the right to live just as the strong has the right to live in this world we live in.  To survive, the weak must be protected, and the strong must be regulated. The rule must govern for the sake of survival of both the weak and the strong – in short, for the survival of the human specie. 

      If the strong insists on bullying the weak out of existence, the strong must face the consequences of not abiding by the rule. That’s when the Government becomes a force or authority that intervenes.  Don’t call the Government your enemy when you are forced to face the consequences of your meanness or bigotry.  Only nincompoops think that way.

       Adam Smith, the father of our free enterprise system, recommends “government regulatory intervention” when monopolists or market bullies driven by greed are controlling our free enterprise economy or society. Without the participation of Government, our free market system cannot survive. This is part of the two different economic systems in the world – the Centralized Economy versus the Free Market Economy -- where Karl Marx in his Das Kapital and Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations are at convergent point.  That point is Government.

        I noticed that hardly participants in this discussion – especially the anti-Government panel – understand the role of Government in our free enterprise system.  It so ridiculous to listen to their arguments that the market should be left alone to rule or govern on its own.  That is the ideal rule, if we have a “perfect market” system.  Unfortunately, there is no such thing as “perfect market” or “perfect pricing” of commodities in the free market system.  You have to sweat it out in graduate school to get your doctorate to be able to really dissect and understand this esoteric and at times cryptic puzzle.  It is not for the layman to crow about, or pseudo-economists to display their smoking but empty bravado, especially when driven by anger where civility and courtesy fly out of the window and the discussion becomes muddy.

         There are concerned patriots who, clearly short of sufficient knowledge of the subject but propelled by passion, argue too personal or dirty. Civility runs dry when strong feelings, whether infatuation or fixation, caught up with reason.  Instead of being perceived as Libertarian patriots, the foul language used make them look like Lingual Con Artists rather than Con Patriots and no longer Libertarians.

        The United States is a push-button economy. You will know why it is when you come across the study of economic development measurements such as the Harod-Domar Growth Model or the Cobb-Douglas Function that determines the rate of change in real national income through time.     The role of the Central Bank – in U.S. jurisdiction, the Federal Reserve -- is so pivotal in this national undertaking. Advocates of the free market system driven with the passion of libertarian zeal, want the Fed abolished as an arbitrary interventionist that distorts order in the market.  It is not a sane reasoning – it is just a rant.

      What a true or real economist would imagine a United States with such a huge economy without a Central Bank but only a radical revolutionary with a confused cause?

       They also want to get rid of the Federal Government, which they think intervenes with their pure exercise of individual freedom. Can you imagine the United States of America without a government?  I can’t.

       But I love the fire of liberty and freedom that keeps burning in the heart of every Libertarian.  That’s why I am one of them … but not really that kind.

      Sincerely,

      Bakadude