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meanwrightIn order to get an idea about what this government thing is, I'd like to talk about why we need a state by taking a guess at why it happened, using the context of horse trading, prison life, and farming. Hopefully, this will be enough to explain why it never went away. This will probably not do what I intended it to do, and it may take several parts, but it is mainly to get this typed out so that I can adapt it for the physics and politics class.
Why do we need a state? Well, let's look at a typical horse trade. Orlando wants to buy a horse to pull his cart. Roland has an extra horse he'd like to trade. He raised it, he cared for it, but it eats a lot and he doesn't have a use for it in the foreseeable future. And assume Orlando is offering something or some things that Roland wants approximately as much as he values the horse, say a few casks of wine. It would be a good trade, both of them would better off if the trade happens.
Now, if Orlando and Roland know each other, there won't be a problem. Roland knows Orlando will make good on his debt (since he needs to horse to pull the cart to bring wine), and Orlando knows how well Roland takes care of his horses. The trade happens. Even if Orlando and Roland are in a small community, they may not know each other, but they know of each other, and so they both have a reasonably good idea that they can trust each other. The trade happens.
It's when Orlando and Roland don't know each other that the problems happen.
Orlando can't trust Roland about the quality of his horse. Roland can't be sure how likely Orlando will return with the wine casks. This makes it difficult for the trade to happen. Orlando remembers what happened to him last time he bought a horse from someone he didn't know
He will not buy the horse from Roland. Roland, of course, has similar memories of being cheated. There is no trade. Orlando can't bring his wine to market, and Roland feeds and extra horse. Both are worse off than if the trade happened.
When human groups get too large, trust is a scarce commodity, and some method of guaranteeing trades needs to be implemented.
One way to solve this is with a government. The government provides a guarantees by several methods. Licencing laws for various professions nominally provide a minimum level of quality. Lemon laws and other regulations provide some fraud protection against unscrupulous dealers, and torts for more general sorts of harm. But all of these are fairly advanced processes. A state wouldn't have appeared with these characteristics de novo. Although large group sizes could induce a need for such structures, they probably would not have been the initial way in which they were fulfilled.
How did they grow?
Stay tuned.
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1 The story of the Neapolitan coachman and his "dead" horse is quoted in Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia (1993) from a 19th century Italian source. His name was not given.
? It should be possible to incorporate: George A. Akerlof, "The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism." The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 84, No. 3. (Aug., 1970), pp. 488-500.
Why do we need a state? Well, let's look at a typical horse trade. Orlando wants to buy a horse to pull his cart. Roland has an extra horse he'd like to trade. He raised it, he cared for it, but it eats a lot and he doesn't have a use for it in the foreseeable future. And assume Orlando is offering something or some things that Roland wants approximately as much as he values the horse, say a few casks of wine. It would be a good trade, both of them would better off if the trade happens.
Now, if Orlando and Roland know each other, there won't be a problem. Roland knows Orlando will make good on his debt (since he needs to horse to pull the cart to bring wine), and Orlando knows how well Roland takes care of his horses. The trade happens. Even if Orlando and Roland are in a small community, they may not know each other, but they know of each other, and so they both have a reasonably good idea that they can trust each other. The trade happens.
It's when Orlando and Roland don't know each other that the problems happen.
Orlando can't trust Roland about the quality of his horse. Roland can't be sure how likely Orlando will return with the wine casks. This makes it difficult for the trade to happen. Orlando remembers what happened to him last time he bought a horse from someone he didn't know
I am a dead man. I bought a dead horse who does not know his way around, wants to only follow the roads he likes, slips and falls on slopes, is frightened by firecrackers and bells, and yesterday he shied and ran from a flock of sheep...1
He will not buy the horse from Roland. Roland, of course, has similar memories of being cheated. There is no trade. Orlando can't bring his wine to market, and Roland feeds and extra horse. Both are worse off than if the trade happened.
When human groups get too large, trust is a scarce commodity, and some method of guaranteeing trades needs to be implemented.
One way to solve this is with a government. The government provides a guarantees by several methods. Licencing laws for various professions nominally provide a minimum level of quality. Lemon laws and other regulations provide some fraud protection against unscrupulous dealers, and torts for more general sorts of harm. But all of these are fairly advanced processes. A state wouldn't have appeared with these characteristics de novo. Although large group sizes could induce a need for such structures, they probably would not have been the initial way in which they were fulfilled.
How did they grow?
Stay tuned.
----------------
1 The story of the Neapolitan coachman and his "dead" horse is quoted in Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia (1993) from a 19th century Italian source. His name was not given.
? It should be possible to incorporate: George A. Akerlof, "The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism." The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 84, No. 3. (Aug., 1970), pp. 488-500.
