|
|
|
The Operating System of Society |
|
|
Building a good government forces us to solve the same problem we face in designing an operating system. How do you safely restrain absolute authority?
First, let's define government. There are many definitions out there but none of the sites I scanned got right to the point: Government is the dominant functional force at a particular place and time. Note that I said 'functional'. A more powerful but purely theoretical force is irrelevant. It's the operating force that counts.
We may persist in calling a 'government in exile' the rightful government of a nation, but that's merely wishful thinking. While it may become the government again someday, it's simply not the government now.
Also note that my definition rules out the possibility of stable anarchy (i.e., an absence of government). People are social creatures and social structures will quickly arise to wield power where there is no government.
While fragmented nations may be said to be in a state of anarchy, there is always some form of government wherever there are people. More properly, the remnant of the nation may not have a single government, but the various local pieces of what was once the nation will have local power structures. That some of those poorly defined and temporary powers may resemble gangs of rogues doesn't matter; they're still the dominant local force.
And that is the essence, the defining characteristic, of government.
Now, how is that like an operating system? Again, a definition.
An operating system (OS) is the program that provides -- and limits -- access to a computer's physical resources. While some application programs are usually bundled with an OS, that doesn't make them part of the operating system proper. The OS's job is to preserve order in the computing environment. The operating system decides which program gets CPU time and can access which parts of disk and which bits of memory, and so on.
In some circles it's considered very bad form to closely integrate a web browser -- or any complicated function -- into the central ring of operating system authority. The OS responsibilities should be simple, well defined, and strictly limited. An operating system should never have to deal with the limitless variation of inputs and real-world hazards that a web browser might encounter. To violate this discipline results in the infamous Blue Screen of Death -- instead of an informative error message.
Like the role of the OS, the absolute authority of government comes with a single paramount responsibility: to control the use of force in the nation.
In a civilized society government's first duty is to suppress the arbitrary use of force.
Ignoring the peripheral functions of government and considering only this single common characteristic, the monopoly of force, allows us to derive the core duties of government:- Government should protect the nation from outside threats. It should be aware of foreign forces and other nations, maintain a sufficient military to protect the nation, and enforce the security of the borders.
- Government should maintain peaceful order within the borders. It should enforce laws against the inappropriate use of force against people and property and it should ensure that its citizens can travel safely throughout the nation.
- Government should provide for the orderly maintenance of power. It should implement a simple, understandable, and verifiable set of rules for the smooth transition of power.
Those three tasks require the monopoly of force.
The secondary duties of government are valueless -- or worse -- if government fails to properly manage the monopoly of force. When the government becomes too busy or distracted to diligently perform its basic, central role, the nation is moving toward instability.
Other tasks that government may undertake include all the baggage associated with the monopoly of force. Like any other assigned authority, the use of force can be abused. Adding numerous other interests to government not only reduces its ability to focus on its core duties but also adds conflicting interests to this ultimate power. The political, cultural, and financial battles over the minutia of society should be as far removed from the monopoly of force as possible.
Because of its privileged position of power, government should undertake only those essential functions that government alone can perform. If there is an alternative to government garbage collection, for example, it should be strongly preferred. However, if it were to be demonstrated that government alone could effectively perform garbage collection, then the task should be moved as far from the central authority as possible.
The secondary responsibilities to government do not belong within the central ring of authority.
The framers of the United States Government were not operating system designers. However, they built an architecture very similar in concept to a well-structured OS. The central government was largely in charge of only those things that require the monopoly of force. Everything else was delegated down to the states and the people.
The states represented the second ring of authority. By having the less central, nonessential, and arbitrary roles of government reside at the independent state level, the US design created a laboratory of government evolution. Since every state could try a different solution to each problem, we could observe real-life experiments to see the advantages of each method. Citizens could then use that information to decide where to live, where to work, and where to start their next business. Politicians could build political campaigns based on proven approaches.
Note that I have slipped into referring to the US government design in the past tense. Two centuries of political management and increasing centralization have mostly obscured the original design principles from the day-to-day operation of our government.
Without examining the United States Constitution, a casual observer would not notice the careful use of the principle of least privilege in the design we inherited from the 1700's. |
|
| mail this link | -Ray, April 19, 2007
Modern art T-shirt gallery: I Love Pwnage T-shirts |
© 2008-2010 Ray Yeargin
r00t [at] [thisdomain]
| |
