There is widespread belief that many countries are on an irreversible path to arbitrary governmental power.  No single “can’t-miss save-the-country” magic bullet exists, people might think, to save us from this fate.

But fortunately, there is one, and it has a name.  That name is “mechanics.”

Our questioning mind, which separates us from all other creatures, led us to think in two distinct ways: a mechanical method, where we look for “cause and effect” in which everything can be tested, and a philosophical method, where conclusions must be deduced because testing is either impractical or impossible.  Mechanics is “I know,” while philosophy is “I think.”  It’s an important difference.

We found ourselves on Earth not knowing anything.  Discovering the operations of nature was the first step toward human understanding.  The mechanical questions of how nature works are today called science.

When humans discover why or how something works, we group the elements of operation into a “system.”  Systems are then grouped into “fields of knowledge” or “scientific disciplines.”

The planet-wide system of plants and animals we call living nature.  “There is no waste in nature” is foundational.  Everything goes somewhere; everything gets used.  The mechanism that drives waste out of nature is competition.

Competition and waste are inextricably connected, like opposite ends of a seesaw.  When one goes up, the other goes down, and vice versa.

Additionally, everything in nature moves to “ease,” or takes the easier path.  It is why in our national parks we have signs that read, “Do Not Feed the Animals.”

Competition, waste, and ease form the foundation of our natural world.  When we apply them to the two systems that are unique to humans, we uncover a startling difference.

The marketplace, where all voluntary human interaction takes place, mirrors nature.  Competition drives out waste, and everything moves to ease.  The entire reason for trade is to make our lives easier.

Government, on the other hand, does not mirror nature.  It doesn’t make sense to have two or more governments.  The singularity of government precludes competition.  An inescapable byproduct of government is waste.

The marketplace is mechanical. Humans compete to find answers.  Discovery eliminates waste and makes life easier.  As Richard Feynman explained, “Why didn’t we think of that before?  [Because we] didn’t have enough facts from experiment.”  Knowledge leads to progress, which keeps the marketplace dynamic.

Government is philosophical.  Primitive humans formed groups to protect themselves from the arbitrary power of nature.  Forming groups made life easier.  It also led to the creation of rules and the eventual human invention of government.  Several permutations of government have arisen.  Benjamin Franklin observed, “History is full of the errors of states and princes.  Those who govern, do not generally like to take the trouble of considering and carrying into execution new projects.”  The lack of competition keeps government static and error-prone.

The marketplace and government are both necessary.  Each performs functions that the other is not good at or designed to do.  They naturally overlap.  It is the amount of overlap that is concerning.

Humans get only one life; it makes sense to spend it in a prosperous society.  Prosperity is an indication of a healthy society, where you don’t need to worry about shortages, but rather are able to easily find all essentials necessary for a comfortable, happy existence.  Prosperous countries attract people because life is easier.

Prosperity is created in the marketplace.  A desire for ease creates demand for goods and services.  Competition is the engine that fulfills the demand.  In an open marketplace, competition is automatic because businesses that don’t compete go away.  Competition driving out waste creates small, almost invisible advantages every day.  The continual elimination of waste over the broad breadth of society results in social wealth.

Government is incapable of creating prosperity.  There is no competition, so there is no mechanism to eliminate waste.  Necessarily, waste accumulates.  There are thousands of examples throughout history where all-powerful, arbitrary governments have taken over the functions of the marketplace.  The inevitable result is social poverty.  Socialism is a recent example.

Today, all talk is about big government and big government solutions.  Feynman noted that “nobody has ever figured out the cause of government stupidity, and until they do (and find the cure) all plans will fall into quicksand.”

The cause of “government stupidity” is the absence of competition magnified by philosophical thinking.  When government has big, wonderful plans, it “thinks” they will solve a range of problems.  There is no testing — just guessing, and bad guessing is a hallmark of government.

Mechanically speaking, there is no cure for government stupidity, but limiting the size of government prevents arbitrary power.  Small government also limits bad guesses, allowing the marketplace to create a prosperous society.

Image via Pxfuel.