The owner of a ship noticed that his ship was filling with water. Being an educated man (if not nautically trained) he knew there were many possible causes for water in a ship: leaks in the hull, the bilge pump being broken, waves washing over, condensation, and even the crew urinating in the hold. He heard the bilge pump running, he saw water from waves pouring in the open hatches, but worst of all he smelled urine in the hold! Being sensible, he ordered the crew to shut the hatches and then gave them a lengthy, stern harangue on hygienic use of the head. While he was lecturing the crew, his ship sank due to a combination of causes: large, unobserved leaks in the hull, a bilge pump that was running but not pumping correctly, and condensation that had shorted out warning circuitry. http://critiquesoflibertarianism.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/parable-of-ship-why-austrian-economics.html Huh.. I wonder what the solution to this would be, since just assigning the title of "government bureaucrat" to the ship owner, and giving him a badge, won't change the results. I mean, I guess the retort question is, if the owner doesn't even know these things, how would someone who's not even involved in it directly know them?