Running on empty

The weakness that causes men and women to
abandon themselves in favor of an "ego boundary"
attachment to the state, makes it unlikely that
most of them will suddenly reject their
substituted sense of self. Instead, the failure
of the state to accomplish its avowed purposes
intensifies the commitments of its supporters.
The greater the failures of the state, the more
personal energy and resources people are willing
to devote to it in an effort to redeem its
legitimacy. The more we commit to the state, the
larger and more powerful it becomes in order to
deal with an ever-increasing range of conditions.
As the state expands its reach, the uncertainties
of chaos are iterated back into society,
producing even more failures to which further
political responses are demanded. Such processes
contribute to what Leopold Kohr referred to as
the "size theory of social misery."

Few of us behave in such an irrational manner in
the marketplace. If Lucy’s Greasy-Sleeve Diner
repeatedly gave its customers food poisoning, few
would return. If Snerdly Electronics produced
computers that failed to perform properly, or if
the Belchfire 8 automobile continued to have
defective steering problems that caused
accidents, most consumers would cease doing
business with them. We would go into convulsive
laughter if such businesses were to plead "pay us
more money, and we’ll solve these problems." But
when state agencies fail in their declared
purposes, most of us line up to support bond
measures or increased taxation to be spent on
behalf of the failed systems with their failed
programs!

Like I've said before, this is a system running
on auto-destruct because few are aware or interested
enough to change their habit of playing that game.

Do you know how to steer free of it?

Full essay.