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Comment by johnnydoebk | Hacker News Reader

>> When you point out to them how internet or cellphone networks or taxis or a number of other things is actually cheaper in Russia (or in eastern Europe in general) because of the lack of regulations or government interference, they go in denial.

Cool. I'm from a small 3rd world country. Just as in Russia the police officers sometimes rape detainees with bottles of champagne, there is literally no justice, but lots other funny things.

But our prices are lower than those in Russia. And it's OK if you are not paying taxes here. So what? Does it mean the rest of the world must be envy?

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I think countries have problems because of governments, not because their governments aren't strong enough. Paying more to police officers doesn't make them behave any more civil. An example of that is the US where police abuse is widespread and incarceration rate is highest in the world. Statistically, in terms of police interaction, I'd be much safer in your country than in the US.

The real problem is absence of the market mechanism in law enforcement. A police officer, even though I basically am paying his salary, isn't working for me. He's working for the state. I can't hire another protection service and stop paying to the police. I can't complain. Hell, I can't even change laws that I don't like (except through a very long political process which is unlikely to give me any results in any meaningful timeframe).

What you should be thinking is, not how to make a government better, but how to make it less dangerous and influential.

I agree with you on this one, but I have hard time believing that between U.S. and Russian governments the former is more dangerous to its citizens than the latter.

Well, think twice. Just by incarceration rate alone you can tell that the US govt is more dangerous to its own citizens. I'm also much more likely to be shot by a cop in the US than in Russia. Russia also doesn't execute people (there's a moratorium on capital punishment). What else do you need to know?

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