Lubbock Left

It’s “thinking out loud” time here again at LL.

I want to step back a bit and consider the concept of regulation.

Our world is fast-paced and technologically advanced, and I believe we need regulation that keeps up with our capacity to destroy ourselves. Got nukes? Better restrict access to nuclear materials. Got supermarkets? Better make sure that mass-produced food is safe to eat. Got factories? Better make sure that their products are safe to use and that each factory doesn’t destroy the environment it’s in. Got automobiles? Better make sure that those who drive them are qualified to do so and that there is a system of rules to accommodate all drivers.

To me, this seems like basic stuff. Yet, everywhere I turn I hear pundits on the right calling for less regulation or no regulation at all. They see regulation in action and call it “nanny state government,” as though we the people are not allowed to protect ourselves from ourselves.

We also need sensible regulation due to human nature. I’m not implying that humans are evil by nature, but I am saying there are measurable group behaviors that indicate our willingness to deceive ourselves or harm others under the right circumstances. Take the world of market capitalism. Empirical tests, inasmuch as they are possible with human test subjects, have shown that people are more willing to cheat with money “just a little” the further removed they are from (1) dealing with cash as opposed to credit, or (2) reminders to be honest. (I am referring to fascinating research done by Dan Ariely and others that is covered in his book Predictably Irrational.) This phenomenon is why it’s easier to spend more on credit or debit than it is with cash, and why financial advisers with a stake in the companies they recommend can act like they don’t have a conflict of interest. It also helps to explain how, in eight short years of deregulated markets, we can go from a world of booming, healthy investment to one of shady, over-leveraged debt.

Well-thought-out regulation can help us — again, as a group more than individually — to keep from engaging in the weaknesses of our human nature. Of course it’s possible to go too far in the regulatory direction when we stop regulating to protect ourselves and start regulating to proscribe this or that worldview on others. Too often, those on the right are all too eager to regulate behavior according to some narrow worldview while staunchly, ridiculously opposing regulation that actually benefits society as a whole. Wingnuts will talk about denying gay rights all day long while ignoring a broken health care system, for example.

It’s “thinking out loud” time here again at LL. What are your thoughts about regulation?