Value and the State (standard:Editorials, 1870 words)
Author: GXD	Added: Jul 25 2007	Views/Reads: 3132/2104	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A State exists in order to maximize value for all of its inhabitants. This value is tangible (goods), intangible, (services) or administrative. Here's how it works.

VALUE AND THE STATE 

In a community of peoples (the State), individuals who voluntarily elect
to serve as leaders do so with the understanding that they provide 
services which increase the value of the State to its inhabitants.  
Since by doing this they contribute to the value of the State, they are 
entitled to a share of the values produced as a consequence of their 
leadership. 

The community of peoples contains many individuals who utilize their
skills to generate goods (which, in all cases, derive from the 
Earth)and services (such as trade, which adds to the value of goods by 
making them available to the community).  Other individuals in a 
community contribute to the value of the State by providing services 
that enhance the quality of life for members of the community: 
artworks, medical care, education, innovations, protection against 
natural and human predators, and so on.  The administrators of a State 
must also increase the value of the State to its inhabitants; if they 
do not, then they are not entitled to a share of the values produced. 

In any given community, some of the population is capable of creating
tangible value (goods and services whose value can be measured by units 
of a medium of exchange), while others in the population generate 
intangible values.  Still other members of a State consume tangible 
value without contributing fiduciary value -- tangible or intangible.  
For example, household pets contribute intangible value by improving 
the well-being (and hence the productivity) of their keepers.  Persons 
who are physically and mentally disabled consume value that may exceed 
their capacity to contribute to the State; on the other hand, caring 
for disabled and unfortunate members of a community may provide 
substantial intangible value for some individuals.  Exploitation is the 
misuse or abuse of people, animals or resources in order to create 
fiduciary value. 

When a community of peoples generates value that exceeds the survival
needs of its population, such a State may be considered "wealthy", 
because it has a surplus of skills and goods to enrich the lives of its 
inhabitants.  When a community of peoples is not able to generate 
sufficient value to sustain its population, we call this poverty. 

In a very large community, values produced by its populace vary widely
from point to point.  If members of such a community elect to retain 
their identity as a State, then a need arises for several intangible 
commodities: education, communication, transportation, energy 
production, and distribution are among them.  These services consume 
resources and must be intelligently administered in order to serve the 
needs of all inhabitants of a community. Intangible commodities of this 
sort improve the distribution of know-how (thus creating value); they 
improve the production and distribution of goods (so they are equitably 
available wherever members of the community need them) and it is the 
responsibility of administration to organize and schedule these 
activities in the most effective manner. 

In like manner, we can assign value to material and cultural aspects
that characterize and define a given community.  When groups of 
individuals in the community do not recognize the same values, this 
leads to conflict, and occasionally to division of the State.  When 
individuals inhabiting two or more States differ sufficiently on what 
constitutes value, this leads to war. 

In the course of administering a State, certain values generated by the
population are set aside to provide for members of that community who 
do not contribute either tangible or intangible value.  These goods and 
services are set aside to provide for future needs of the community.  
They insure survival and comfort of its administrators and their 
helpers; they also mitigate the sufferings of illness and old age (in 
States where human life enjoys a high measure of respect).  In larger 
communities, where great wealth has been amassed, enlightened 
investment of the excess wealth makes available a wider variety of 
goods and services to members of that community.  When this excess 
wealth is squandered on goods to be consumed or destroyed, (creating 
waste without contributing value), it is a disservice to the populace, 
since it does not make available a wider variety of goods and services 
to members of that community.  For example, the expansion of military 
forces and materiel in the interest of economic stability is a 


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