Reply #8: Enlightenment is the key.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

If everyone were enlightened, politics would be minimal and almost automatic. Studies would be done on any issue, and the facts found and the course of action would be almost always self-evident.

"Enlightened self-interest" is not an idle phrase and not to be dismissed lightly. The examples of antibiotics and the "tragedy of the commons" are good and are examples where government regulation performs a role in the absence of enlightenment and education.

The Republicans are anti-libertarian in many ways, despite paying lip service to the ideal. They are anti-science, for example. They aren't even proper conservatives because they don't conserve the environment.

It seems at times as if the Republicans are anti-education as well. So much the better for keeping the sheeple consuming pickup trucks and faux fur toilet seat covers and sports tickets and beer. So much easier to rule them with Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD).

Get people educated, which means not just knowledge, but the ability to think analytically and to communicate clearly and effectively. Read my H.G. Wells quote in my tag line.