Good Government? A Challenge To Readers.

The challenge is simple enough, really. It is this: cite an example of a serious problem in contemporary society -- social, political or economic -- that is not caused by or exacerbated by government.

For readers who are vaguely troubled about the conditions of American society but uncertain about what is wrong, as well as those who know that serious problems exist but do not understand their causes, I recommend reading an essay (The Law) by Frederic Bastiat. Bastiat was a French economist concerned with the abuse of government power in France during the first half of the 18th Century. But The Law might just as well have been written about 21st Century America. He wrote with insight, wit and clarity, and his work explains much about what we are now facing.