Tim Worstall uses the government provision of potable water to demonstrate The Greater of Two Evils — and to explain conservative ideology:
One of the main problems rightwing nutjobs like myself face is that we’ve never quite managed to get across a fundamental point about our mistrust of government action. People assume we just have a naïve faith that markets left untouched will magically make the world a better place in each and every case. People assume that our distaste for the jumped up little vote-stealers so eager to spend our money is some sort of mental aberration. Such is probably true of me, but there are quite a few thoughtful free market voices out there. Even among those as rabid as myself, none believes there ever has been or ever will be a totally free market. Markets have always been limited by laws, regulations and even by certain societal standards. Indeed, we would insist that markets and rules go hand in hand. Otherwise, without general agreement as to what property is and general rules for its ownership and transference, how could a market even exist?
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When you describe a problem, I’m all ears. When you tell me how the world can be made a better place, I’m fascinated. And when you tell me about your desire for such improvements, I am right with you. But I do insist that your program be rather more developed than: “we’ll let the Government do it.” Because as we have seen time and again, such approaches can prove to be far worse than the one offered by the money-grubbing capitalists.Alright. So I’ll admit to being rabidly ideological, which brings me to that fundamental point I’ve always wanted to get across. With respect to the provision of any good or service: whether or not you agree with my standard “public provision is almost always a worse solution,” surely you can accept “public provision is sometimes a worse solution.” If you can’t accept that, you’re not living in the real world.