An Abundance of Messiahs; B. Hunter

There was a catch in her voice, and it was only with an effort that she managed to say the next words: "private corporation ... " Now she brightened, and the rest of the sen tence sounded full of hope: "and still be an agent for social change." Ah, another messiah! So sure she was appointed to be "an agent for social change." No doubt, the young lady's sense of destiny gave her confidence in her mission. However, there was an important point she had missed. If she recog nized this point, it might vastly alter her concep tion of her position in society: Everyoneis an agent for social change! Every man, woman, and child, without exception. Those whose sense of vision convinces them that society would founder without their exer tions don't realize that society goes right on its way, with them or without them, responding con stantly, endlessly, to the uncountable decisions Barbara Hunter is an educational consultant in office automation who liveson Long Island.

made every instant. No matter how diligently these wouldbe saviors strive to bend society in their own direction, there is no way to prevent society from doing what it does best: reflect the sum total of the individual decisions of its compo nent population. There is nothing new about self-appointed mes siahs. Common among them are government employees. Indeed, in some cases it is their very missionary zeal that leads them into what they love to call "government service" in the first place. If this were the limit of their manipulative skills, society could shrug off their misguided salvation and go about its daily business of each one living his own life. Unfortunately, messiahs don't stop at single-handed or merely cooperative measures; they employ the punitive power of government to force their will on those whose view is not up to their standards. Thus, we have efforts within government at every level and in every branch to regulate, to "set priorities," to license all sorts of trades and busi nesses, to decide for you the effectiveness of your remedies and cosmetics, to decree environmental standards and require environmental studies that can push back the completion time and raise the cost of every project, to declare moratoriums on construction in entire counties in contravention of all existing private contracts and schedules ... and on and on.

In all likelihood, there never will be an end to the supply of "experts" who know better than we do how we should liveour lives,but when they arm themselves with the power of government-save us from messiahs! D 39 The Economics and Ethics of Trash by K. L. Billingsley A s they watch barges plying the high seas searching for places to dump their foul loads, Americans are increasingly con cerned with the problem of garbage transport. Is this practice ethical? And are there examples where it works? To answer these important questions, several concepts must be considered. Individuals, companies, and regions all have comparative advantages over others. For example, Aretha Franklin is a better singer than Madonna. Steinway is better equipped to build quality pianos than the Toys"R" Us Corporation. Kansas is a bet ter place for growing wheat than Rhode Island or Florida. Likewise, some regions are better suited than others for the disposal of garbage. Some are worse.