Anti-Government vs Democracy: Part I

This is unregulated free enterprise

This is how people make cities.

If ever a stupid idea persisted way past its time it would have to be this entire movement of anti-government nonsense that now seems to completely define American conservatives. The notion that private enterprise, if left to its own devices, will completely meet the needs of the population is simply absurd. How do I know this? I know this because we have been there before. Just read history and look back to when the private sector basically did whatever the hell it wanted to do with either little interference from, or with the full support of government. Americans spent the better half of the last century literally fighting in the streets at times to correct the free-enterprise-at-any-cost movement.Now conservatives would have us return to those halcyon days with a few strokes of a legislative pen.

Here’s an example that most Americans can attest to simply by taking a look at their own communities. If you live in an area that is dominated by strip malls, parking lots, sprawl, drive-thru fast food joints, and an over-riding anti-pedestrian environment then you can thank private enterprise. This is what happens when the people have no say in how their own communities are built.  I find it hard to believe that private individuals would knowingly acquiesce to the suburban blight that has infected so much of the American man-made environment.

The people of Seattle decided many years ago that they needed to fix the problem that so many American cities have faced since the end of WWII: the decay of the inner-city because of the mass exodus to the suburbs. The city planners changed zoning laws so that all new buildings in the downtown area had to reserve the first level for businesses: shops, restaurants, grocery stores, bars, bakeries, etc. Before this law was in place vast swaths of Seattle's downtown were basically empty of residents. Who would want to live in an area without these basic services? I moved to Seattle in 1998 and the new downtown was just beginning. By the time I left in 2006 the city center had become a bustling area (I lived in the city center all 8 years). Residency had multiplied sharply while the suburbs saw a decrease in growth. The people and their elected government had shaped businesses to their liking and the city is much better for it. Of course these changes weren't all brought on by the government but the ideas set forth came from the people.

In about 1992 the city of Amsterdam had a plebiscite and the people decided to vastly restrict automobile traffic in the historic center. Parking spaces were systematically removed from the center while sidewalks and bike paths were improved. At first local businesses complained that this change would destroy commerce and turn Amsterdam into a museum instead of a vital metropolis. Any observer who has seen the city before and after this citizen initiative can say without a doubt that Amsterdam is much better now. It's called democracy in action.