While we’re waiting for some possibly momentous news, such as the Israeli Defence Force finally finishing off Hamas in Gaza, a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, and a court ruling on Trump’s Tariffs, it might be a good time to reflect on some rules for leading to better government. A few posts ago, I featured an observation of the poorest performing nations, which were the ones where the state allocated resources and selected winners and losers rather than allowing the market to do the job.

What is the purpose of government other than providing the framework for its citizens to thrive? This structure must begin with the protection of body and property from arbitrary loss. Whether it’s an invader, thieves, or the government itself, you and your property are safe from capricious forces.

One of our great blessings is inheriting the English common law and the principles of representative government. We codified and expanded on these principles. An American citizen can’t be deprived of freedom or property without due process, as enshrined in our Constitution and its amendments, especially the first ten. Rather than a supreme leader doling out favors either directly or through subordinates, people should interact without government interference as much as possible.

These freedoms resulted in heretofore unheard-of economic growth, first in the British Isles, but followed closely by the young United States. The closer other nations emulated these two, the more their people benefited.

If you lack the basics of food, clothing, and shelter, not much else matters. In countries that provide a framework where people are free to choose not only the basics but also much more. (“More” in the sense of my series”The Long Journey to More”) The nations where rulers direct the economy struggle with even the essentials.

Marxists and other progressives claim that the expertise of an elite class can lead us to the promised land. The “best and the brightest,” rather than people interacting, know better. Those comprising the ruling elite live well, but the rest do not. In Cuba, Venezuela, or Argentina, where the state directs the economy, living standards fell.

Progressives point to China, but its significant progress occurred when it lessened state control in favor of market capitalism. China is now reverting to state domination. While that nation tightens its control, Argentina is moving in the opposite direction. Assuming each continues on its present course, whose people will be better off? My bet is on Argentina, and I’ll put money on it.

In earlier times, a Monarch’s ability to choose who to favor gave them great power. Everyone bowed to the ruler. People are still bowing and scraping to the Putins, Maduros, and Xi’s of the world. Rather than people making key choices in the marketplace or at the ballot box, it’s what the ruler decides that counts.

How far we’ve moved away from the people’s choice is indicated by the ever-increasing armies of lobbyists. How is it that five of the wealthiest seven counties in the U.S. surround Washington, D.C.? Unlike Silicon Valley and other high-tech centers, Washington produces little besides laws and rules, allocating money and favors. This circumstance eerily looks like the monarchs of old and dictators abroad.

Democrats and Republicans point at each other, but both continue to follow this ominous trend. Biden’s Green New Deal was nothing if not picking winners and losers. Trump’s new tariffs will exponentially increase the President’s power to grant favors, dwarfing his large number of first-term tariff waivers. With far greater tariffs, businesses will have no other option but to beg for relief. That doesn’t conform to the government just providing structure.

Equality before the law is a principle that is a foundation of our legal system. Extending this principle to all government actions would impede the drift to forcing our citizens to go to the government on bended knee to maintain their businesses.

To this end, rules should be uniform. For instance, rather than the hodgepodge of ever-changing tariffs for products and nations we’ve placed in effect, if we feel we need tariffs, a single tariff rate applying to all allows importers to plan without rushing to Washington. Remember, businesses and capital gravitate towards fair treatment.

Apple’s recent actions show how far we’ve moved from this principle. Trump levied high tariffs on China, claiming national security, so the company moved operations from China to friendly India. Now, the President has placed even higher tariffs on India. Trump now demands that only iPhones made here are acceptable. Apple has no choice in the near term but to dance to the President’s playlist.. How is this benefiting one of our premier companies?

Repeated throughout our business community, the tariff actions freeze investment. What I suspect is happening is that they are reverting to how the merchant class dealt with monarchs in the past. Flatery, big promises of actions off in the future, and a little bribery, while they wait for clarity or find a better place to operate and invest.

Why does Trump need an enormous, elaborate room addition to the White House? He says it’s a “ballroom”, but we don’t hold balls at the White House. What comes to my mind is a monarch’s court in all those period movies. All it needs is golden thrones. Delusions of Grandeur?

So here we are. We know what works because it’s worked for us in the past. We know what doesn’t work. If you don’t, ask the masses of refugees living across our country from state-directed states such as Cuba and Venezuela. Yet here we increasingly look to Washington and some state Capitols to get our marching orders.

We fought our War of Independence to stop bowing to a monarch, so why are we returning to what we overthrew? I’ll provide the questions in the future to ask our leaders to determine where they’re trying to put us.