a majority of one

Robin Hanson (hanson@hss.caltech.edu)
Wed, 26 Mar 1997 11:47:55 -0800 (PST)

Anton Sherwood writes:
>How many of those billions knowingly chose archy over anarchy?
>The largest group that can be said to have made anything like such a choice
>(rather than merely choosing between rival warlords) is, I would guess,
>those Americans who participated in the Ratification debate of 1788 --
>likely fewer than a million.

Individuals have long been knowingly making decisions that influence
the amount of government they have, and its degree of centrality.
Popular support has long been a key resource in political battles.
Unless you think the benefits of anarchy only appear when you reach
some perfect unseen form, and not along the path to there, this data
is relevant.

Robin D. Hanson hanson@hss.caltech.edu http://hss.caltech.edu/~hanson/