No Free Lunch: Economics for a Fallen World: Third Edition, Revised

Chapter Thirteen: Market “Failure” and the Role of the Government 299 NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES Joshua 22: 10-20: The Offensive Altar 10 When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar in appearance. 11 And the sons of Israel heard it said, “Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.” 12 When the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves at Shiloh to go up against them in war. 13 Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one chief for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the thousands of Israel. 15 They came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them saying, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the LORD this day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the LORD this day? 17 Is not the iniquity of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of the LORD, 18 that you must turn away this day from following the LORD? If you rebel against the LORD today, He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow . 19 If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then cross into the land of the possession of the LORD, where the LORD’S tabernacle stands, and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the LORD our God. 20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’” In this passage, the sons of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar by the Jordan, causing quite a stir! What were they thinking? Did they want to incur God’s wrath against the nation of Israel? The Israelites asked this question, noting their action would not only cause problems for themselves, but for the whole nation of Israel. They repeated the story of Achan’s sin where he hid some of the silver and gold from Jericho, and brought the Lord’s wrath on all of Israel. There were negative consequences of Achan’s sin on the broader community and nation of Israel. Further, his sin brought punishment of death to his whole family (Joshua 7:25) . While the negative implications of Achan’s sin were due to the special covenantal relationship of Israel to God, it provides an illustration of how individual actions may have costs and benefits that extend beyond the individual making a choice. The negative consequences of our individual actions often extend beyond us. For example, communities that allow gambling have higher rates of crime than those that do not. The transaction itself may be legal, but it may cause problems for others who are not directly part of the market transaction. For an extreme example, Ted Bundy blamed his addiction to