On the Census Debate
It is the fatal conceit of statists that efficient central planning is possible with sufficient data. No matter how much data they collect it can never be more than a tiny fraction of the data held within the minds of individuals dispersed throughout society. The reason is because words are imperfect symbols and we always know much more than we can communicate to others.
Thus the most efficient way to make use of resources (capital) is to have no central planning at all but to allow each individual maximal freedom to pursue his rational self-interest. That is why a laissez-faire, free market capitalist political economy will always out-compete a more centrally planned one. It will always produce more wealth and consequently a better standard of life for its members.
Thus central planning is “fatal” to those on the margins who would have lived if there had been a little more food, a little better health care, etc. A compulsory census, more so what it represents, literally kills people. Central planners are at best well-intentioned but ignorant murderers.