State Size and Getting Along

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
--The Who

Increasingly it seems, claims grow that people are becoming more divided. Progressives in particular bemoan lack of collaboration and concern for what they call 'the common good.'

What progressives and all statists fail (or pretend not to) realize is that it is their policies that invite division in society.

Left to their own devices, people naturally cooperate in order to further their own self-interests. This means peaceful production and exchange of not only material goods but of social and psychological goods as well.

State action, which is predicated on the use of force, interferes with peaceful cooperation. Special interest groups grow with the State to use aggression to get what they want. It is a matter of time until special interest group is pitted against special interest group to wrestle the strong arm of the State in their favor.

Voluntary cooperation collapses as a result.

The 'common good' and similar constructs are euphemisms for anti-cooperation. They encourage the use of force to further the interests of some at the expense of others. Society becomes more polarized as a result. Political processes are consequently anti-social.

The central proposition is this: The greater the size and scope of the State, the less people cooperate and get along.

Because State size and scope have grown epically, tearing of social fabric should be expected.