How we board trains
#226
My Dear Friend of Democracy,
One can learn a lot from how societies deal with scarce resources.
For example when traveling.
On Saturday morning, I wanted to take the train from Tirano, Italy, to Chur, Switzerland. The first half of the journey should take me along the world-famous Bernina railway line.
The weather was fantastic. So, I wasn’t alone.
To be more precise, people crowded the platform when the train pulled into Tirano. It quickly became clear: there are fewer seats than people who want to sit in them.
Demand exceeded supply.
The doors opened, the young and strong, the elbow-people and the egoists got a seat; the old, the weak and the considerate stood in the train corridors or stayed behind on the platform.
It occurred to me that this is how authoritarian systems work. The strong, powerful and ruthless grab the scarce resources.
Democracies usually find other ways to deal with limited supply. Goods and services are allocated through prices, social selection, lotteries, moral behaviour or, best of all, by increasing supply. - But not always, as my experience at the Tirano train station taught me.
✊ In every democracy there is room for improvement.
See you in Europe,
Johannes
PS: We took the train an hour later. It was still busy then, but we got a seat, everyone got a seat. - On occasion, you should get a seat there as well!
