[ExI] Judging radical possibilities

[Kelly Anderson]

2011/9/26 Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com>:
> Yes, but this is a kind or not-unraveling, metastable situation. The outlaw
> is keeping forty hostages, they could easily overwhelm him, but none is
> especially willing to accept his or her very high probability of taking a
> bullet by moving first. So, I would not read too much into it in terms of
> mainstream happiness about being amongst those who pay taxes.

This herd mentality is very much a part of modern "democracies"... it
is most easily observed on the highway. The sheep (drivers) are
pursued by the wolf (speed cop) and if the entire herd moves at 10
over the speed limit, the wolf will usually only go after some sheep
going 20 over... The repercussions of a speeding ticket are smaller
than those of not paying your taxes... and so the whole thing really
becomes an issue of game theory. They also make a big example out of
tax evaders, so that nobody gets any fancy ideas. But I can think of
scenarios where mass tax evasion could easily emerge. Think of it as a
stampede... LOL.

-Kelly