Friday, 2 November 2012

First past the post is not authoritarian and will stay

Arguments like (being against) fractional reserve banking and first past the post are difficult to 'win' because the state is not making the mistake of authoritarianism. It is not making an error of arrogance (which is easy to identify and refute) it is making an error of negligence. Forcing people to take on the liabilities of the banks by taking them on itself is an arrogant action by the government only in the sense of it being able to do so. The government is doing something we do not like which is a problem for us only because they are the government. Deposit insurance (for banks) is self-destructive for the government but it is a problem for us because the government exists. It is a problem anarchy would solve. We can assume that if the government wanted to give us either free-market banking or proportional representation then it would have done so and since we have no rhetorical ammunition in our favour neither will happen unless the electorate demand it.

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