The Path of Least Resistance - Freedom and Security

There is an oft-repeated trope that lingers in academic and policymaking circles: that crime doesn't pay. And yet, despite the best efforts of governments, law enforcement agencies, and a range of civil society organizations to stem its spread, the global epidemic of crime and insecurity continues unabated. Why is this? Could it be that those unregulated, unsanctioned, and illicit sectors, filled with risk and tragedy, provide such handsome rewards for their dirty deeds that a growing cohort of desperate, often impressionable, minds is easily lured to the ranks of the underground?

This author argues that the fixation on "taking profits out of crime" may actually prove short-sighted from a viewpoint of policy. To be clear, this is not an argument against current efforts to address criminality, or some activist call to "defund the police". This is an inquiry into root causes and comprehensive solutions. If more pathways existed to make easy profit in legitimate sectors, would that not serve to dissuade people from dirty money? In essence, dirty money competes with clean money in a political economy where incentives determine outcomes. Fewer bottlenecks and less bureaucracy in legitimate sectors would allow clean money to outcompete dirty money.

Human behaviour, much like physics, operates on a natural law—to follow the path of least resistance. Could it be that policymakers, particularly those in the developing world, in their efforts to govern and control, have effectively stifled legitimate economic activity? Do the frictions imposed on profitable enterprise, via taxes, tariffs, and other administrative stopgaps, produce the unintended consequence of driving activity underground? It surely appears as if many of these efforts, no matter how well-intended, inadvertently dampen and destroy the supply of goods in legitimate sectors.

At a time when much of the world is reeling from chaos and instability, we can ill afford to be governed by models of a bygone era. History has shown us, repeatedly, that capital flows to where it is treated best and value accrues where freedom resides. Policymakers ought to recommit themselves, ideologically and in a practical sense, to the cause of freedom so as not to stifle the flow of creativity and innovation in the economy. The agency of individuals should be upheld as the sacrosanct principle, and as the intended outcome, of the decision-making process. Just as water naturally flows downhill, economies should be structured to allow prosperity to accrue to the least amongst us. This is not a silver bullet for all security challenges, but it will usher in much-needed social change.

Scribed - 2026/09/28