Dat inequality

[CoccoBill]

The rich who could afford law enforcement also would value the peace of mind that comes with living in a safe, law abiding area. I suspect that ingenuity from the private sector would find a way to solve the free rider problem in a way that would provide all people within an area with a basic amount of security and justice.

I see the rich in guarded gated communities or in forts with moats, not policing the streets. It's not cost-effective to stop all crime, just what's affecting yourself.

When governments monopolize dispute resolution, criminal justice, education, and all these other things, they cause us as a society to turn off our imaginations as to what different faces all these institutions could have in the event of innovation. Without competitors, these institutions are unlikely to innovate at all, or do so extremely slowly. This isn't because the government is bad, its just because the incentive structure isn't there for innovation to occur.

Government organizations put into effect the policies set by the congress (or whatever you want to call it). The congress bases their policies on science, expert opinions and public opinion. The congress consists of citizens that other citizens want to vote in. That's the theory. In principle, I see nothing that separates a congressman or a government bureaucrat from a private entrepreneur or worker. They could, and often are, the same people. I agree somewhat with your argument about the incentive structure regarding the public employee, but I think similar challenges have been put forth for the private employee. The actual objective in the public sector to just "do good" may not completely counterweight the lower incentives for innovation, but it might also be for the best that an institution providing central basic services, should not be spearheading innovation and using higher risk strategies that come with it. If I had to choose between slower innovation and somewhat less cost-effective strategies, and systemic risks regarding safety and environmental sustainability, it'd be an easy choice.