Here is a striking fact about the human mind: we have great difficulty imagining solutions that have yet to present themselves. It doesn’t matter how often the market resolves seemingly intractable problems, we still can’t become accustomed to this reality. Our minds think in terms of existing conditions, and then we predict all kinds of doom. We too often fail to consistently expect the unexpected.

Many Americans believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and most Americans live in states where that is the law today,” said Judge Michael Boudin, appointed to the bench in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush. “One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage. Under current Supreme Court authority, Congress’ denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest.

If a few people control political institutions, they will rig the economic game in their favour. This, in turn, gives the holders an incentive to fight to preserve power and others an incentive to displace them. The political game will be far less fraught and so more stable under inclusive political institutions, since people can obtain a high standard of living from voluntary exchange.