The overhead of life

Pick your friction

The modern Olympic games are not what their organizers intended, but they are close. The idea was to set aside national rivalries for a moment so that the world could appreciate talent and accomplishment that transcend national borders. The Paris games now ending have indeed brought together athletes from all over the world. But they compete on national teams, and media covering the games make a point of tallying how many medals each country has won. 

It probably couldn't be otherwise. Somebody has to pay to prepare and transport the athletes to the games. This falls upon national Olympic committees. They understandably expect to receive recognition for their efforts and expenses. Call it the overhead of the Olympics.

Similar phenomena occur in numerous other activities. Capitalism is really good at generating wealth for economies. No other system can match its record. But it has the downside of generating great inequality. Societies get rich, but certain individuals get really rich. This causes resentment and tension. It's unavoidable. The engine of capitalism is the self-interest of individuals. Their talents are sifted and their efforts rewarded by the unequal gains they receive. John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie contributed greatly to increasing American GDP. Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook are doing the same today. They've got to get paid for their accomplishments. Call it the overhead of prosperity.

Empires brought comparative peace to large parts of the world. The Pax Romana, Pax Britannica, and Pax Americana enhanced the welfare of the people who lived under their rule. But the Romans, the Brits and the Americans couldn't be expected to work for free. The overhead of empire included tribute payment, preferential treatment for merchants of the home country, and use of the resources of the colonized peoples and countries for military purposes.

Taxes are the overhead of the social contract. Tithes are the overhead of being part of a religious community. Tips are the overhead of underpaying service workers. Recurrent gridlock is the overhead of America's political system of checks and balances. Tolerance of our partners’ quirks is the overhead of personal relationships.

Of course, if the overhead gets too high, one can be tempted to change the underlying arrangement. Dissatisfaction with inequality has caused people in some capitalist countries to try socialism. The overhead of empire sparked numerous nationalist revolutions. Payments for indulgences—queue-jumping into heaven, according to Catholic doctrine—set off the Protestant reformation. Frustration with democracy caused some countries to turn to dictatorships.

But the new systems all had overhead of their own. Socialism levels people down as well as up. The region around Palestine was relatively peaceful under Ottoman rule yet has known little peace since the Ottoman empire collapsed. The Reformation produced the bloodiest wars in European history before the twentieth century. Dictators throw dissidents into jail.

Overhead in an economic or political system is like friction in a mechanical system. By sound design and careful maintenance it can be reduced. But it can't be eliminated. It's the cost of doing life’s business.