Comments on: Coordination Is Hard

By: Overcoming Bias : Hail John Watkins

Overcoming Bias : Hail John Watkins — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:02:25 +0000

[...] above ground, and accept many American republics into the USA union. All of these require far more coordination than we seem capable [...]

By: Nathan Phillips

Nathan Phillips — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:47:56 +0000

As Dawkins pointed out in the Selfish Gene, coordination works best when the only way out is shared. If any of the cells could get away without coordinating with the rest of the body and still survive, the incentive for coordination would erode. Sci-fi concepts involving cloning are now popping into my mind. Thanks.

By: Overcoming Bias : Cosmic Coordination

Overcoming Bias : Cosmic Coordination — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:24:25 +0000

[...] posted before that coordination is harder than most folks realize. Today I’d like to emphasize that coordination on the largest scales [...]

By: Linda Gottfredson's Apprentice

Linda Gottfredson's Apprentice — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:59:40 +0000

The problems with government are regulatory capture and elite capture.

The rest of us are correct to view government as worthless.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:48:43 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by a_b_debrie: http://bit.ly/cWmjCn Robin Hanson on the idiocy of opposing good governance…

By: Robert Wiblin

Robert Wiblin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:28:00 +0000

Businesses that fail to coordinate well often close their doors (in a capitalist system at least). Governments that fail to coordinate well stop… occasionally.

By: kebko

kebko — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:22:24 +0000

The $50k figure includes state & local, so I think your figure more or less confirms my figure.
I agree. It’s hard to believe, but there it is. Total government (state, local & federal) spending is somewhere near the size of the entire US economy in 1980.
I appreciate your example of Switzerland. It’s a great example of how government services should be much more effective & less expensive.
If you respond, please try to be more civil. I think we more or less agree, but you seem angry.
My basic point is that most of the time, the proposals I see about actual government activity involve spending another $1,000 per household & spending that $1,000 really well. Instead, I’d like to see the government do the things that Switzerland does for the same amount of resources, which generally means the government would be smaller.
Is there a point where you would find my skepticism reasonable? Considering what we get from government, would $60,000/household be too much? $70,000? If we weren’t boiling frogs here, I would think you’d be pretty discouraged even by your $32,000 figure. Surely there is some level, though, where you would accept the assertion that this government needs to show that it can be responsible before it goes tossing off new ideas.

By: Michael Turner

Michael Turner — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:21:58 +0000

“Figuring out and constantly renegotiating who does what and where the boundaries lie/should lie is how rational/empirical governance should work; we should have “empirical policymaking” wherever possible.”

To some extent, federalism provides the needed laboratory environment. If you can make something work in one state, you have some basis (not necessarily a bullet-proof one, though) for arguing that it might work on a larger scale.

By: Richard Silliker

Richard Silliker — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:27:58 +0000

what a constraint!!!!!

By: billswift

billswift — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:45:32 +0000

I should have pointed out “the pragmatic justification” above. I am a consequentialist libertarian.