The Travesty of Government

“Politics is a kind of purification ritual. Most folks think it's wrong to envy, to lie, to steal, or to kill. It's just not neighborly- unless they can get a politician to do the dirty work for them. Yeah, politics allows everyone, even the best among us, to envy, to lie, to steal, and even to kill occasionally. And we can still feel good about it.”

– The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible

In September 2025, just weeks following the US war in Iran, US President Donald J. Trump created his “Board of Peace” with the express purpose of promoting peacekeeping efforts around the world.  By February 2026, the new board's inaugural meeting would take place just days before the US’s second launch attack on Iran.  Since taking office, in fact, Trump has initiated attacks on a half dozen other countries, despite regularly referring to himself as the Peace President.  In 1949, prescient author George Orwell, in his dystopian book, “1984”, would first publish the inane phrase, “War is peace”. 

In Ken Schoolland’s 1989 book, “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible”, economics professor Schoolland teaches economic concepts to people of all ages through the explorations of a young boy, Jonathan Gullible, who lands on a mythical island following a storm at sea.  Using satire to illustrate economic principles, Schoolland tells the story of life on the Isle of Corrompo.  With each chapter showcasing a different economic reality, Schoolland provides lessons from economists and philosophers from Adam Smith to Friedrich Bastiat, Henry Hazlitt, Frederic von Hayek, Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, and others.  The book, now available in nearly 60 languages, was most recently remade into an animated series. 

The town, under the authority of a Council of Lords, shows the perversion of policies that occur when its people lose their autonomy and their spines.  Looking to replace the inequity of merit with the authority of the state bureaucracy, a series of ill-conceived programs quickly ground progress to a halt, often rewarding each according to their needs.  As you will undoubtedly discover, this town is anything but fabled, as it exists in many modern nations around the globe.  The consequences of their policies are legendary. 

Since the purpose of work in Corrompo is to have full employment, rather than to produce goods and services, innovation is shunned.  And since technology hurts workers, by creating efficiencies, antiquated tools are mandatory.  It was economist Milton Friedman who is credited with a story from his travels in India in the 1960s.  While watching workers dig a canal, he questioned why they were using shovels instead of tractors.  When they replied, it was to provide more jobs; he exclaimed, “If it’s a jobs program you want, then you should give these workers spoons, not shovels.”  Dismissed from their policy was the concept that people come not only with two hands, but also with a brain.  Its result is innovation, which frees up more time for the creation of other products or services. 

When the townspeople grew too much food, prices became too low.  This required the Council of Elders to step in to limit supplies through price controls and annual quotas.  As a result, they not only set the prices, but also determined the kind of crops and the amount to be grown.  Competent farmers who relied on their own expertise were thrown in jail, while incompetent farmers who wasted resources by planting in inhospitable soil were paid for their rotting crops.  Compliance was rewarded, and prosperity was punished. 

As the local lake became overfished and was used as a dumping ground, its lack of ownership became an issue.  Property rights are important because what belongs to everyone belongs to no one.  Without an owner determining how a resource will be used, there is no need for good resource conservation, since each person will take what they can get before the resource is used up.  This leads to overconsumption and other types of resource depletion.  Ownership is important because it also allows for the transferability of property and income accumulation. 

When it was determined that tall people were vertically superior, a tall tax was implemented to level the playing field.  As a result, citizens of heightened stature were made to walk on their knees or pay the price if they refused.  Equality taxes are often employed when governments attempt to make people more equal.  For example, a wealth tax is applied to high-income earners to reallocate money to those who have less.  These policies base tax receipts on production, so that the more you succeed, the more you are punished. 

To stop the meritocracy of ability, various redistribution schemes are employed.  Rather than judging art by its aesthetics, a lottery was employed instead, using chance to determine which was best.   In future scenarios, when some students do better than others, a redistribution of A’s to F’s and vice versa would give everyone an average of C.  And as we have seen in sports, instead of crowning a winner, everyone must now get their very own trophy.  Rewards are distributed based on anything but acquired skill, knowledge, and know-how. 

As the economy falters, the more popular the politician becomes, as they become more susceptible to political lobbying and special interests.  Since they control the treasury, they can provide subsidies, tax breaks, and other benefits to friends, family, and other cronies.  Citizens add to the problem by demanding too many laws.  They want extra benefits at work, such as unemployment, insurance, sick days, and paternal and maternal time off, which have led to lower salaries because every demand has a cost.  Worse, they often lead to business closures, putting their own sovereignty at risk.  Politicians pick winners and losers when they create monopolies through licensing, by restricting admission to industries.   An economy built on favors from politicians will suffer due to a lack of competition and innovation. 

When thieves steal and get caught, they pay a price.  Politicians rarely do.  In fact, they garner votes by doing that very thing.  Stockholm syndrome is when a victim develops feelings of gratitude toward their oppressor.  In politics, citizens love the very politicians who hurt them economically.  Those who continue to praise the Social Security program, as it runs out of funds.  Demand rent control that leads to a loss of housing options.   The best advice for removing absurdity from politics might be to judge our politicians by their actions, not their words. 

It is the government’s stated purpose to safeguard the rights of its citizens, to maintain law and order, provide limited public goods, and promote the welfare of the people.  Instead, too many nations have distorted their representation with absurd policies that have done more harm than good. 

Beginning in June 2025, members of the political left created a new protest, the No King's rally, seemingly to show their opposition to Trump’s authoritarian power grab.  Ignoring the authoritarian seizure by their own government bureaucrats, No Kings protestors are the very people who demand that their own government officials take over healthcare, limit freedom of speech, and equalize outcomes.  It’s probably because they’ve done such a good job with education, retirement savings, and mail service.