But most of life, and the best of life, happens when politicians butt out and let us make our own choices.
Did you eat a banana this morning? No central planner calculates how many bananas should be grown, who will pick them, when they'll be harvested, how they'll be shipped or how many to ship. We get bananas and most everything in life through billions of individuals, planning, cooperating and reacting on their own.
Did the Soviets do bananas, I wonder?
"Think about spontaneous order on a road," says The Atlas Network's Tom Palmer.
Right. Millions of people, some of them morons, propel 4,000-pound vehicles at 60 miles per hour, right next to each other. We rarely smash into each other.
There are rules, like "pass on the left," but for the most part, people navigate highways on their own.
Most morons eventually figure out how to yield in a traffic circle, without being frozen in fear.
Amazingly, my town, New York City, has twice now allowed spontaneous order that makes my life much better.City government once managed Central Park. When it did, trash was everywhere, and most of the grass was dead.
The city then agreed to let a private nonprofit, the Central Park Conservancy, manage most of the park. Without a government plan, people came together, giving money and time to turn the park around. (Disclosure: I was one of them, and now I'm a conservancy director.)
Now Central Park is beautiful. Forty million people spend time there every year. Despite the crowds, the park works well, without strict government rules.
But during Covid, something amazing happened. Politicians actually loosened the outdoor table rule. Restaurants quickly opened outdoor seating in sheds on the street.
It's great. The streets around my apartment feel safer now because at night, they are alive with people.
"We need flexibility to allow people to experiment," says Palmer.
Freedom to experiment brings the best in life.
More politicians should learn from Central Park and, amazingly, from politicians in New York City who actually let go a little.