You've Got Me All Wrong

Really, you do. I don't believe in government because I don't believe in government. I don't believe in government because I don't believe in institution. It doesn't matter if it's WorldCom, AIG, Fannie Mae, or the NYC Dept. of Education. Every institution hits that point where bureaucracy becomes entrenched, provision falters, and adaptation is necessary but unattainable. That's the beauty of capitalism. When you start doing something better than the next guy, fuck the next guy. That's your territory now. As a consumer, I love it. I go to Daily Grind. If there weren't any other options, I'd go buy coffee there if it cost five bucks a cup, it tasted like crap, and the wait staff glared at me as I walked out the door. That's like communism's parallel. But now I've got a market, and don't go there anymore because there's a woman out there capable of setting up shop across the street to brew me a cup from freshly roasted beans for half price with a smile, and Daily Grind would die. As a consumer, I love capitalism. Sometimes I don't want it. I'm willing to pay taxes for the government to pave that street outside my apartment, even though I know someone else could do it cheaper and faster and probably do it so the street lasts longer. But then they'd charge me a dime every time I went home, businesses would refuse to set up shop nearby, and I couldn't order cases of wine online to be delivered to my front door without paying an additional delivery charge to FedEx. That's the country's problem. We're split between people that believe the government did an efficient job of paving that road, and those that don't think the government should be in the business of paving in the first place. Public roads are a necessary evil, but even evil acts good in the sunlight. So keep an eye on your government, because the more you watch the better it acts. I think some people would consider that democracy. You've got a civic duty to fix that which needs fixin', sure. You've got another civic duty to get off your ass and find that which needs fixed in the first place. I think you start recognizing those things not when you stop believing in government, but when you stop believing in institution. That's my definition of democracy. You've got another civic duty to prevent the mingling of institution. That's called capture, and it happens when Bank of America drops the ball on thousands of mortgages and gets bailed out. One poorly run institution cannot stand - the woman across the street that just opened up a coffee shop has a rich brother-in-law who'll bankroll my home purchase without dicking me. But then government institution comes and props up private institution and we can live without the latter, but not the formal. So keep an eye on your government and don't allow it to get captured. The intermingling of institution; the SEC calls it collusion in the marketplace, but in 2008 I called it the SEC. That's when I watched the life savings of millions of Americans fucking destruct while those same hard working citizens also lost their jobs. Prevent the intermingling of institution. Government institution allowed the business institution's shit to happen. Prevent the intermingling of institution with sunlight. That's my definition of democracy.