Pretty Sure We've Answered Who Will Build the Roads

The statist argument that hinges on provisions of publicly accessible goods, with roads and security being the primary targets, has been around for as long as people have been arguing against the existence of a state. Despite evidence to the contrary in literally every market transaction for the provision of goods not provided by a state actor, it continues to persist. At this point, it's become the rallying cry of most every statist and minarchist I've run into. "MUH ROADS" is practically it's own bumper sticker, and though I haven't been a voluntaryist for that long (about a year now), I have joined in the growing chorus lampooning the argument.

Well, I'm pretty sure we can put the argument to rest. In a report out of Russia, it seems that criminals have improved a gravel road that they have been using to smuggle goods into Russia from Belarus. Guys on the wrong side of the law, who would have every incentive to avoid costly and involved projects such as road maintenance, realized that moving heavy trucks on paved roads makes it possible to move more product than on gravel. So what did they do? They paved the road. Apparently, if there's a market demand for something, people will develop a plan and supply the desired something. Shocking, I know.

The law of supply and demand, insofar as if there is a demand for a thing, someone somewhere will figure out a way to create a corresponding supply of it, which will create a cascading effect of innovation and improvement, wins out once again. I know I've been involved in countless theoretical arguments about "who will build the roads," but at the end of the day, the answer is: whoever wants to build them. If someone sees some value in paving a road from one place to another, they will undertake the effort of either building it themselves (I know, it's a Herculean task that only the government could do) or contract with someone to build it for them. The fact that other people may use it could factor into the equation, and the builder could decide to address that issue in any number of ways, or the builder might not care. I'm pretty sure these smugglers in Russia don't give a damn if other people use the road, since they're boosting their sales by virtue of paving the road. Whether other people use it doesn't matter to them.

Remember, kids: when people with the most incentive to not engage in a certain production still do it, chances are it would happen that way for us normal folks, too.