Some praise the idea of increased rules. Others tout the benefits of self-regulation.
I argue for somewhere in the middle.
I am old enough to remember cities before the era of car emissions laws… a brown layer of thick haze covered the skyline on most days.
Today, new passenger vehicles are 98-99% cleaner in what comes out of tailpipes compared to vehicles from the 1960s (source). That change would not have happened without government regulation.
At the other end of the spectrum lies the ridiculous state of health care in the USA. Because of government regulations (and also private litigation), it takes months to pay a single doctor’s bill. And it’s nearly impossible to find out the real cost of a simple procedure because of added complications from the insurance industry.
Why does government involvement in one area yield good results in one area and bad results in another? I’m not sure.
One end of the spectrum says groups have no wisdom. The other end says the individual has no wisdom.
Both are incorrect. Groups and individuals have wisdom – some of the time. And some individuals have no wisdom, just as some groups have no wisdom.
