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Politics is Still the Problem

Let’s replace every politician with at least two honest entrepreneurs.

Max Borders
Published in Underthrow Series - 2 mins - Jan 29

It’s not easy to generate wealth and value through production and peaceful interaction, which we have called the economic means, following Franz Oppenheimer. That’s why we should be leery of terms such as *late-stage capitalism.* Human history has involved too many political means, that is, the scaled-up threat of violence dressed in Brooks Brothers today.

Think of it as a continuum between the cooperative means and the coercive means.

Remember the Lords and aristocrats who served Royalty while the serfs worked the land and created value. It wasn’t until the dawn of the 19th century that entrepreneurs began to tinker and toil. Eventually, the riff-raff got out from the yoke of parasite classes claiming a ‘Divine Right’ or special status.

After millennia of mostly flat progress in standard of living, worldwide economic growth exploded around 1800 and never stopped, giving us what economic historian Deirdre McCloskey calls ‘The Great Enrichment.’ In other words, growth turned exponential, and so did living standards.

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Humanity has made tremendous improvements to institutions compared to medieval baronies and feudal societies, particularly those that protect private property, entrepreneurial capital, and the resources of those who create value.

Along with the Great Enrichment, we have seen some means to protect the Makers, but we have also seen the political process become co-opted by Takers. The ebb and flow between the economic and political means is more pronounced when viewed on shorter time horizons.

Yet, it is possible to shift power from parasitism to prosocial behavior.

We should note that evolution doesn’t weigh in except on the question of success or failure. Lampreys, eye-infesting worms, and feminizing barnacles are all “successful” species. However, we can imagine a shift in the selection function for organizations. In other words, through better rules, tools, and culture, we can make the economic means more accessible to the many and the political means more costly to the few.

We call this subversive innovation.

Max Borders is a senior advisor to The Advocates. See more of his work at Underthrow.

Max Borders

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Advocates for Self-Government is nonpartisan and nonprofit. We exist to help you determine your political views and to promote a free, prosperous, and self-governing society.

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