Earlier I discussed briefly the concept of emergence as it applies to economics. That is, markets and trade happen - they are not a system that is applied to a situation as a solution, they are the situation.

Recently it’s become clear to me a really fundamental difference in paradigm between those who believe in emergence (if you like, “free markets”) and those who believe in trying to control things. This difference causes us to talk past each other.

The difference is contained in the fact that it is not between those who believe in emergence, or free markets, and those who do not. The difference is that those who believe in emergence believe in letting what is true, be, and those who believe that truth should be controlled or mitigated. Controllers want to ensure that bad things don’t happen to good people. “Emergents” are merely trying to explain what is the case, and recognize that lying about what is the case will generate worse results in the long run. It doesn’t mean saying that “whatever happens is what should happen”, in some deferential way, it just means saying that you need to recognize what is happening and find adaptable ways of fixing it.

The examples are numerous, but almost every aspect of central planning advocated by Controllers involves risk mitigation by the state, presumably for the benefit of citizens. “Universal” medical care, welfare, even the limited liability provided by the corporate form - it is really all the same concept. Controllers want to ensure that risk is not a factor by socializing that risk onto the greater population.

There is another name for this! It’s called insurance, which is a service. It is a product. And, like every other product in existence, letting that solution emerge, manifest, and compete with other options will produce better and more efficient (i.e., lower cost) versions of it over time.

“But wait a minute,” you say. “Isn’t that begging the question?”

No. I am saying that allowing a system of emergence will, and already does, have the components necessary to protect it from itself. To treat it any differently is to lie about reality, and reality will catch up with you. Every time we ignore this, we cause the problems we are seeking to prevent, and make the consequences larger and worse over time. Emergence is about adaptability, which is the most important factor (by definition) in the survival of any system.