Solutions

 

Street Fighting Man

Hey! Think the time is right for a palace revolution
'Cause where I live the game to play is compromise solution
Well, then what can a poor boy do
Except to sing for a rock 'n' roll band
'Cause in sleepy London town
There's just no place for a street fighting man

The Stones were right.  We need compromise solutions, or else we will get revolutions.

“The Business of America is Business” describes a User Optimal solution from the perspective of a businessman.  The equivalent System Optimal statement would be “The Business of America is America”.  It is possible to be a businessman and also appreciate that there are System Optimal solutions. (e.g. Mitt Romney).  However it is also possible to be a businessman and have no appreciation that there are, or should be, System Optimal solutions.  (e.g. Donald Trump).  It is also possible be a US Senator, who represents a state, a System, and have no appreciation for User Optimal solutions ( e.g. Bernie Sanders). What is Good for America is not necessarily Good for Business, and conversely what is Good for Business is not necessarily Good for America.  The purpose of government is to arrive at compromises where what is Good for America is also Good for Business.

You can not arrive at these compromises if you don’t appreciate that there are both User Optimal and System Optimal solutions, and they may be different.  The fact that they are different, does not mean that one is better than the other, just that they are different.

If you do believe in a System Optimal solution, then it is important that you also agree about who is in the System.  The US Constitution says that every person is included in the System.  The US fought a Civil War because some states believed that certain persons ( i.e. enslaved Africans) should not be included in the System.  Agreeing to a System Optimal solution, but disagreeing as to who is in the System is effectively not believing in the System Optimal solution at all.

A System Optimal solution can only be arrived at if the truth is considered.  A User Optimal solution may only depend on that User winning, and if winning requires not acknowledging the truth, also know as cheating, it can still be a User Optimal solution.

The goal of government is to find compromises where User Optimal solutions are also System Optimal solutions.  It is not to make the System smaller, or accepting the untruths of User Optimal solutions as System Optimal solutions. As the government celebrates Martin Luther King Day let's remember this.  Those who advocate for User Optimal solutions need to accept the Truth and accept the System if the government is to be able to compromise.