Incentives, individualism and the state

Over the past week Boyes reinforces the Higgs ratchet effect as the US government expands in scale and scope. His December 12 post - How Big is Government describes the emergence and evolution of the state in society - both in its welfare manifestation and in its war guise. I could not help but think of Melville's The Confidence Man in reflecting on Boyes' description of the expansion of the state and his next two posts that provide an excellent example of the process of state power.

The imposition of state power results in uncertainty which inevitably leads to loss of liberty as state power expands to counter this uncertainty. Thus, all policy action is a confidence game, and as Melville reminds us:

The sly "bedraggled" boy [at the end of the Confidence Man] provides a "Counterfeit Detector," whose interpretation of a money-text only suggests confusion and uncertainty about all interpretive vision: "I don't see right," declares the old man in the last chapter, "--or else-- dear, dear me--I don't know what else to think" (389).

This is precisely the challenge confronting society - uncertainty and the reaction to not knowing. To the extent that agents in society are self confident and have a sense of expectation that the Hayekean evolution will emerge allowing for some exercise of liberty within the context of known property rights then a check on state expansion will remain. See previous post HT: Peter Boettke

To the extent that agents in society are fear governed and lack confidence in their own ability to react to an uncertain world, the welfare state expands.

Earlier I referenced the Heritage Economic Freedom rankings and the decline of this measure over time in our country. In discussing this issue with my brother, he correctly observed - I would much rather live in a developed country with declining economic freedom than a developed country with increasing economic freedom.

This is both true and illustrative of the acceptance of the state in our lives - whether in the guise of the welfare state or the war state the power is a MASQUERADE.