Re: Cypherpunk criminalization

[Bill Frantz <frantz@netcom.com>]

At 6:41 PM -0700 5/21/97, Kent Crispin wrote:
>On Wed, May 21, 1997 at 11:41:08AM -0800, Tim May wrote:
>> There are perfectlylogical game-theoretic reasons why the Washington
>> bureaucracy has gotten so large, why every one of the 500+ Congresscritters
>> has a staff of dozens working for him or her, why each of the dozen or so
>> major Cabinet departments has dozens of buildings and thousands (even
>> millions, as with DoD) of worker bees, why each entity in government seeks
>> constantly to expand its scope and powers, and why the number of rules,
>> regulations, laws, emergency orders, and edicts expands inexorably every
>> day.
>
>I don't think this problem can be "fixed" in any meaningful way.  You
>just argued that the problem is a consequence of "perfectly logical
>game-theoretic reasons".

I expect Kent is right.  Fixing the problem is a bit like closing tax
loopholes, as soon as you close the ones people are using, a lot of very
smart, motivated people start looking for new ones.  In the case of
personal power, the same thing happens.  You have a revolution (peaceful*
or otherwise) and the power relationships get stirred up and there is
enough looseness in the system so people can breath freely.  Then the power
hungry start learning how to work the new system and the looseness goes
away and you are back, more or less where you started.  I think Thomas
Jefferson said something about this.

* Peaceful revolutions since 1950 in the USA: (1) Civil Rights/Vietnam war
- Civil disobedience and reasoned argument changed the moral compass of the
nation over the opposition of the bureaucracy, congress, and the president.
(2) Repeal of the federal 55 MPH speed limit.  Massive law breaking caused
the politicians to support an issue over the massed opposition of the
bureaucrats and beltway bandits.


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