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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 28, 2009 / 10 Mar-Cheshvan 5770
Self-Governance Works
By
John Stossel
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Much of what government does is based on the premise that people can't
do things for themselves. So government must do it for them. More often
than not, the result is a ham-handed, bumbling, one-size-fits-all
approach that leaves the intended beneficiaries worse off. Of course,
this resulting failure is never blamed on the political approach on
the contrary, failure is taken to mean the government solution was not
extravagant enough.
We who have confidence in what free people can achieve have long
believed that government should not venture beyond its narrow sphere of
providing physical security. It should not attempt to cure every social
ill. So it's good to learn that serious scholars have demonstrated that
our intuitions are right. Free people, given the chance, solve what many
"experts" think are problems that require state intervention.
For that reason, Elinor Ostrom's winning of the Nobel Memorial Prize in
Economic Sciences ought to kindle a new interest in freedom. (See my
earlier column here)
Ostrom made her mark through field studies that show people solving one
of the more vexing problems: efficient management of a common-pool
resource (CPR), such as a pasture or fishery. With an unowned "commons,"
each individual has an incentive to get the most out of it without
putting anything back.
If I take fish from a common fishing area, I benefit completely from
those fish. But if I make an investment to increase the future number of
fish, others benefit, too. So why should I risk making the investment?
I'll wait for others to do it. But everyone else faces the same
free-rider incentive. So we end up with a depleted resource and what
Garrett Harden called "the tragedy of the commons".
Except, says Ostrom, we often don't. There is also an "opportunity of
the commons." While most politicians conclude that, depending on the
resource, efficient management requires either privatization or
government ownership, Ostrom finds examples of a third way:
"self-organizing forms of collective action," as she put it in an
interview a few years ago. Her message is
to be wary of government promises.
"Field studies in all parts of the world have found that local groups
of resource users, sometimes by themselves and sometimes with the
assistance of external actors, have created a wide diversity of
institutional arrangements for cooperating with common-pool resources."
She has studied, for example, self-governing irrigation systems in Nepal
and found successes never anticipated in the textbooks. "Irrigation
systems built and governed by the farmers themselves are on average in
better repair, deliver more water, and have higher agricultural
productivity than those provided and managed by a government agency. …
(F)armers craft their own rules, which frequently offset the perverse
incentives they face in their particular physical and cultural settings.
These rules may be almost invisible to outsiders. …"
In "Governing the Commons," she writes about self-governed commons in
Switzerland, Japan, the Philippines and elsewhere that date back
hundreds of years. For example, in the alpine village of Tobel,
Switzerland, herdsmen "tend village cattle on communally owned alpine
meadows" under rules of an association created in 1483. The rules govern
who has access to the grazing lands and how many cows a herdsman can
place there, preventing overgrazing. The cattle owners themselves run
the association and handle the monitoring. Sanctions are imposed for
violation of the rules, but compliance is high.
Don't mistake the association for government. Rather, it is a private
co-op designed for a narrow purpose. "All of the Swiss institutions used
to govern commonly owned alpine meadows have one obvious similarity
the appropriators themselves make all the major decisions about the use
of the CPR."
She found something similar in Japanese villages, where residents use
private property for some agricultural purposes and self-managed common
forests for others.
Solutions imposed by external authority were not necessary and
usually self-defeating: "Academics, aid donors, international
nongovernmental organizations, central governments, and local citizens
need to learn and relearn that no government can develop the full array
of knowledge, institutions and social capital needed to govern
development efficiently and sustainably. …"
How about that? Freedom works.
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© 2009, by JFS Productions, Inc.
Distributed by Creators Syndicate, Inc.
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