Free Market Philosophy
Diversity is
God.
People are smart, and some people
are so smart that there are those who ask, "Why don't we just let the smart
people make all the
decisions?"
Unfortunately, it's a fact
that even the wisest among us don't have a clue. Realizing one's own ignorance
is the first mark of wisdom. Truth is discovered only through muddling,
mistakes, and dumb luck. The best way to solve a problem isn't to have one guy
think about it and tell us all the answer, which we follow blindly. It's better
to have thousands of people think about it, and come up with thousands of
solutions, argue about them, and -- most important -- implement the ones that
look best. Once they start working, we can use the hive mind of humanity to see
which ones are really best.
Central
authority advocates always think that there's one best way. Their way. The
right way.
I say even if you find a
right way, there's no proof that it will continue to be right for the next ten
years. If everybody does the same thing, and that thing starts not working,
you've got nowhere to look for answers. If some group of people that's been
insanely doing something dumb for twenty years suddenly starts prospering, the
rest of us might say, "Hey -- let's copy those
idiots."
That's why it's great to have
a world with lots of countries, and countries with lots of states, and states
with lots of individual communities, all trying different things. Some work,
some don't. The world as a whole benefits from the mistakes and successes of
every individual.
When we impress our
own wisdom upon others against their will, we need to consider the loss of
cultural diversity we're causing. Perhaps when society changes next -- and it
will, and soon -- their culture could have some useful ideas we could learn
from
Filed Wed - June 15, 2005, 11:02 AM in
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