Russ Nelson's blog
rants and raves
http://blog.russnelson.com/dictator/index.atomRuss Nelsonhttp://blog.russnelson.com/dictator/index.atomme@russnelson.comCopyright 2021 Russ Nelson
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2011-01-28T20:55:00ZWhy I want to be your Dictatorhttp://blog.russnelson.com/2011/01/28/why-i-want-to-be-your-dictator2011-01-28T20:55:00Z2011-01-28T20:55:00Z
<p>The most interesting parts of economics are the <a href="http://coordinationproblem.org/">coordination problems</a>. They come up whenever a problem
can only be solved by coordinating with other people. To a very large extent,
coordination problems can be solved by the combination of private property
and price signals. Unfortunately, some problems don't get solved using
only those two mechanisms.</p>
<p>We need a dictator. A constitutional dictatorship. One in which the
dictator is <em><b>strictly</b></em> limited in power. One whose power
can be taken
away by a vote of a super-majority of the people. While I don't actually
want to be a dictator, I want to get the coordination problems solved.
From serious problems like the over-extension of copyright law, to the
War on Drugs, to defending our national borders, all the way down to
why we don't have any standard sizes for Li-Ion batteries? There are AAA,
AA, C, and D sized cells for carbon-manganese (remember them?), alkaline,
Ni-Cad, Ni-MH, and Lithium. Why not Li-Ion or Li-FePo? It's a coordination
problem; nobody wants to make their device dependent on somebody else's
batteries.</p>
<p>So, Vote Nelson for Dictator! I promise not to do anything for you
that you can do for yourself!</p>
<p>Further topics in this category will list the things that I promise, as
your dictator, not to do.</p>